Monday, June 10, 2002
Though some young people disagree with the ordinance, most others say it's a good idea.
By JoANNE VIVIANO
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER
BOARDMAN -- Inside the open trunk of Seth Warden's Nissan Altima is a 12-inch subwoofer.
"It's not too loud," the 18-year-old Boardman High School graduate said. "Most kids have two of them. I don't like it that loud."
Warden said he tends to listen to country music without turning up the volume. It's the rap and rock that require a loud boom.
But the teen said he doesn't see loud noise in the township as a problem and he thinks a new township resolution prohibiting loud music between 10 p.m. and 7 a.m. is a bit unfair.
"I don't agree with that," Warden said. "Ten o'clock is pretty early. ... Everyone's got a stereo in their car.
"I can see if it's ridiculously loud and they have all kinds of calls for one house, but if I'm just going down the street and I get a ticket, I don't think that's fair."
Boardman Township trustees adopted a resolution last week that prohibits "plainly audible" noise from radios, stereos, televisions and other electronic devices. "Plainly audible" is defined as clearly heard from 100 feet away.
The resolution also places the same time restriction on vocal noise and lawn care noise and other restrictions on construction noise and commercial delivery noise.
The penalty is $50 and increases on subsequent offenses.
Boardman Trustee Thomas P. Costello said the resolution was passed in response to several complaints from residents about loud parties and cars with loud stereo systems.
Various views
Like Warden, some teen-agers interviewed said they disagree that the resolution is a necessary one. But some of Boardman's other residents said it's a good idea.
Marcy Koltonski, 45, said she hears radios of young people who drive by her home.
"I think it's a good idea because I live on Glenwood Avenue, so sometimes it gets pretty loud when they go by," she said.
Paul Fabian, 75, of Lemoyne Avenue, said he has a noisy car in his neighborhood.
"Last night I heard him going after dark," Fabian said. " ... It's annoying. You can hear the [house] windows rattling, he has it on so loud."
At least two women agreed with Fabian, with one West Boulevard area resident saying she sometimes can't hear her television over the bass of stereos in cars driving by, even in the winter when her windows are closed.
Anna Delfino, 70, said she considers her neighborhood, off U.S. Route 224 and Huntington Drive, to be a peaceful one without noise problems, but she still said the resolution is a good idea to keep younger kids from blasting their stereos late at night.
Huntington Woods resident Mark Nester, 33, said he doesn't perceive problems in the neighborhood but agrees that the resolution is a good idea.
He said it may help to quiet down residents who mow their lawns after dark, control high school students with loud radios and weekend parties and help out elderly residents who might want to rest at earlier times.
Other issues
Eric Sutton, 50, of Jaguar Drive, said he doesn't think of noise as a problem and thinks Boardman is jumping on the bandwagon of other communities, such as Youngstown, that have passed noise ordinances.
He said he'd rather see the township crack down on other issues, like traffic congestion and high speed in residential areas.
Mittie Lloyd, 64, of Potomac Avenue, said noise doesn't bother her: She's usually up late watching television. But it does irk her husband, James, 69.
"That's right," Lloyd said, nodding his head. He said the noise in his neighborhood invades the privacy of his home.
"It's a good idea," Mrs. Lloyd said. "It's noisy where we live. ... Every time he hears a noise, he's got to stop and see what it's all about."