Shhhhh! Niles finally has its noise ordinance

NILES — After more than eight months of deliberations and revisions, council unanimously passed its ordinance to prohibit “loud and raucous noise during outdoor activities in the city.”

“It gives the police clear guidelines to deal with neighborhood [noise] issues,” said Councilman at-large Stephen Papalas, one of the ordinance sponsors, at tonight’s council session. “We want to make sure that people living around bars in the middle of neighborhoods can have a high quality of life.”

The issue had been brought to a head last September when residents complained about loud music emanating from McMenamy’s, a Youngstown-Warren Road restaurant, with one resident threatening a lawsuit if the issue was left unresolved. Among the issues council had struggled with before passage was a late-night noise restriction that business representatives warned could affect activities such as baseball games at Eastwood Field and other community events.

The restriction was later modified as was a provision that would have placed a restriction on noise enforcement based on distance. Police had encouraged those changes.

For the complete story, see Thursday’s Vindicator and Vindy.com