Mayor may veto Quincy noise restrictions
A controversial ordinance to regulate nightclub noise at Quincy's Marina Bay will receive new scrutiny from Mayor Thomas Koch, who said he might veto the restrictions if a compromise cannot be found between sleep-deprived residents and business interests there.
Koch said the citywide ordinance, which has set residential noise ceilings of 75 decibels during the day and 65 at night, will be studied again to determine whether the levels have been set too high.
"My concern was perhaps the City Council might have watered it down too much," Koch said.
An amendment to raise each of the day and night ceilings by 10 decibels passed the City Council, 5 to 4, on June 1. That action, which imposed higher limits than a ceiling proposed by City Councilor Brian McNamee, drew heated opposition from some residents of Marina Bay, who have long complained that loud late-night noise from clubs and restaurants at the waterfront development has interfered with their quality of life.
Koch said a veto is one of the options being considered. However, he added, having some form of ordinance might be preferable to having none at all during the summer. After the City Council meeting Monday, the panel is not scheduled to meet again until September.
"We're still looking at it," Koch said. "What do the decibels mean? What do the various levels mean?"
McNamee welcomed the decision to revisit the noise restrictions. "He actually wants to make an impact here, and he deserves to be given credit for that," said the councilor, who represents Marina Bay.
McNamee had proposed day and night limits of 65 and 55, respectively, to address the concerns of constituents, some of whom said they occasionally slept in walk-in closets, closed all windows, and turned up the air-conditioners to avoid the music from the clubs. Business owners said the regulations would stifle their operations.
Normal conversation is 60 decibels, and a household vacuum is 70 decibels, according to the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association. Under the ordinance, noise would be measured at the source of a complaint, such as a home or condo, and not at the point of origin.
McNamee pledged to try to roll back the volume to his original levels. "This thing had been gutted. They took the central nervous system out of this thing," McNamee said.
Maureen Glynn, who is trustees chairwoman at Marina Point, a part of the Marina Bay complex, said both sides - condo residents and boardwalk businesses - need to work out a compromise that best serves the popular mixed-use development.
"If we don't have the business, that hurts our values. If we do have the business and they're overbearing, that hurts our values. So it's a dilemma," Glynn said. "What we need is harmony. We need to give and take, and I really think that all of the people should just sit down and iron this out."
