Greensboro to revisit noise ordinance

SynerG, Action Greensboro's young professionals' organization, held a meeting yesterday to discuss the noise ordinance and issues with its first year of implementation. Councilwoman Nancy Hoffmann (above), City Manager Denise Turner Roth and Police Attorney Jim Clark explained what the city has done and outlined why council will revisit the issue at its June 18 meeting. 

Though the ordinance is citywide, discussions yesterday (and last year when the ordinance was revised) focused on the battle between downtown clubs — namely Greene Street — and downtown residents — namely Roy Carroll and the inhabitants of his Center Pointe condos. 

Kurt Collins, below left, said yesterday that he moved out of downtown because of excessive noise. Clark said that during the noise ordinance debacle last year the city mostly heard from club owners and their supporters but that residents remained mostly silent on the issue. That has changed in the past year, he said, as more downtown residents have contacted the city. 

The number of noise complaints in Greensboro has dropped from 5,195 to 4,726 since the ordinance's implementation, but the number of citations has almost doubled even though the city delayed enforcement during an initial trial period. The number of citations to nightclubs only rose slightly, from eight to 12, though Greene Street was cited three times.

We will have more detailed reporting on the noise ordinance coming soon. Stay posted!