DENVER — The City of Denver has updated its noise ordinance for the first time in nearly two decades.
The Denver City Council voted 12-1 on Monday to approve the city's new noise ordinance. The updates impact a variety of activities, from how loud festivals can be to when trash pickup can start.
"Denver has become a very mixed-use city where we're seeing a lot of residential areas coming up in places that were formally zoned for industrial or commercial, and so we're trying to make a balance of that," said Amber Campbell, public information officer for Denver's Department of Public Health and Environment.
Sound is traditionally measured in decibels (dB), but in order to determine the sound's impact on the human ear, engineers use a weighted scale known as dBa. According to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), a silent study room is typically 20 dBa, while classroom chatter measures 70 dBa. A nightclub with music is typically 110 dBa, and a jet taking off 200 feet from you is registered at 130 dBa, according to OSHA.
Under the City of Denver's new ordinance, festivals on public property can now have a sound level of 85 dBa, up from 80 dBa. Such activities are still prohibited after 10 p.m.
The new ordinance also allows waste, recycling and composting collection to start an hour earlier at 6 a.m. Collections are still prohibited after 10 p.m.
The ordinance changes do include updated restrictions.
There were previously no noise limits for festivals or special events held on private property. Now, such noise cannot exceed 85 dBa. Private property owners are also limited in the number of festivals or "public noise producing events" they can throw each year.
The previous noise ordinance listed specific decibel limits for construction activity between 9 p.m. and 7 a.m. on weekdays and 5 p.m. to 8 a.m. on weekends. Now, any construction activities that are "plainly audible" are prohibited between those times. According to our partners at The Denver Post, time-stamped videos recording the construction noise can be used as evidence when submitting a complaint.
- View the City of Denver's initial noise ordinance presentation below
The City of Denver has not updated its noise ordinance since 2008. Campbell said the changes were necessary due to the growth the city has seen since then.
"If you've been in Denver for a while, you know that the landscape of the city has changed, especially in areas like RiNo," said Campbell. "It is important to us to help balance that city's growth while continuing to protect the public health aspect."
Reuben McKelvey, who lives near Washington Park, is not happy with the changes.
"I’m not sure why it’s necessary, I’m not sure why they’ve passed it," he said.
McKelvey believes that waste collection services will begin well before the new 6 a.m. start time.
"You let them in at 6 o’clock, they’ll probably start coming to some parts of the city earlier than that," he said.
Denver City Councilman Kevin Flynn cast the sole “no” vote on the ordinance, citing the potential for louder mornings due to waste collection trucks.
“I’ve heard from constituents over the years complaining about being awakened when the 7 a.m. start time is being violated as early as 6,” Flynn said during Monday's city council meeting. “I don’t think the solution to that is just to move the start time back.”
However, Denverites like Peter Ferraro, who lives in the city's Uptown neighborhood, don't believe the updates will change Denver's sound level significantly.
"It’s probably not going to personally affect me," Ferraro said. "Other things wake me up before the trash truck does anyway."
- Denver7 tested the noise levels at several popular areas across Denver. Check out their levels in the video player below
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