BANGOR, Maine — City leaders next week will take up discussion of an
ordinance amendment designed to put more onus on nightclub owners to
limit excessive noise both inside and outside their establishments.

The
change would add a provision to Chapter 194 of the city’s code that
reads: “Owners of a nightclub, dance hall or disco have an obligation
to prevent their patrons on their property from causing noise which
causes discomfit or annoyance to a reasonable person residing in the
vicinity of the nightclub, dance hall or disco.”

Another clause
would be added to the same ordinance that clarifies that business
owners are responsible for noise created by its patrons not just inside
but “on the owner’s property.”

Councilor Richard Stone, who has
been vocal about addressing city noise concerns for some time, said the
goal is to create a compromise between business owners and a growing
number of downtown residents.

“It may seem extreme to some
people, but this was an area that I felt we had to do something,” Stone
said Friday. “Residents and businesses need to coexist.”

Scott
Huntley, who owns Benjamin’s, a nightclub on Franklin Street downtown,
has had issues with the city in the past regarding noise complaints. He
said he’s happy to limit noise that originates inside his club but he
also said it’s absolutely not his responsibility once those patrons
leave.

“I don’t own the sidewalk,” Huntley said.

John
Dobbs, owner of Paddy Murphy’s on Main Street, agreed that policing the
sidewalk is not and should not be the responsibility of business
employees.

“But, I haven’t been approached by the city about any noise issues,” he said. “Knock on wood.”

The
proposed amendment change was not prompted by any specific complaints,
but rather continuing issues associated with downtown noise, City
Manager Ed Barrett said Friday.

“I imagine there will be
considerable debate about whether we can ask [businesses] to control
noise that tends to flow out of extending areas,” he said.

Members
of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee will discuss the
ordinance change at a meeting at 4:30 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 3, at City
Hall. Any recommendation would go to the full City Council the next
Monday.

Interestingly enough, the Bangor Planning Board at 7 p.m.
Tuesday will discuss two additional ordinance changes that specifically
address nightclubs.

One would redefine a nightclub under the
city’s land development code to be any establishment that houses 80 or
more patrons. The previous threshold was 300.

The other item
proposes several minor ordinance amendments that govern Bangor’s
downtown development district in an attempt to “strike a balance
between the needs of the eating and drinking establishments located in
the downtown and the residents.” More specifically, the city is seeking
to impose conditional uses on cer-tain establishments, to limit hours
of operation and eliminate parking requirements within the downtown
district.

“The [city] planning staff is supporting the changes,”
Barrett said. “I think those are reasonable and give us more control
over applications for uses in those particular zones.”

If approved by the planning board, the changes also would require full council approval.

City
councilors and staff have had a lengthy history of clashes involving
downtown residents and business owners over noise complaints in recent
years. Stone doesn’t think that most establishments have persistent
problems, but he said the ones that do need to be held accountable.

Business owners mostly agree but they worried about the city becoming too restrictive.

“People
like us provide a service that the community is screaming out for,”
Huntley said. “I would think the city wants our business.”