The Fairfax City Council has unanimously approved an updated noise ordinance that clarifies the maximum possible sound levels, tweaks the hours the law is applicable, and gives the city more ability to enforce noise violations — including a new criminal penalty intended for rare cases.
Passed at yesterday’s city council meeting, the ordinance expands prohibitions on certain noises that are currently banned from 11 p.m. to 7 a.m. Starting July 15, restrictions will change to be in effect from 9 p.m. to 8 a.m. daily.
Regulated noises include music and other sounds amplified by speakers, vehicular honks, and yelling, hooting, whistling, barking and other disturbances by people or animals except in emergencies.
The update also gives the city more tools to be able to enforce the ordinance through both civil and criminal penalties, with discretion on how to apply them.
Violations could now be classified as a class 3 misdemeanor, punishable in Virginia by a fine of up to $500. Subsequent offenses would escalate to a class 2 or 1 misdemeanor, which could come with jail time. Civil penalties would start at $250 for a first offense and rise to a maximum of $500 for any additional incidents.
“The reason we included criminal penalties — and some other jurisdictions have done this as well — is in very isolated, egregious situations, a civil penalty just won’t cut it,” Fairfax City Attorney Brian Lubkeman told council members. “We hope that we almost never have to use the criminal route. It’s not favored. It’s not a way to achieve compliance. But in circumstances where we just can’t get compliance, at least that’s a tool to have.”
Additionally, the ordinance updates the time for loading and unloading of vehicles to align with the new 9 p.m. standard, which limits noise that is “plainly audible by persons in any residence with the doors and windows closed, across property boundaries.”
The new standard for loading and unloading applies across the board, whereas the previous rule only applied to residential neighborhoods.
A number of city residents spoke at council meetings this spring to advocate for an updated noise ordinance. Many residents of Sutton Heights said they had concerns about trucks coming in and out of a development adjacent to the neighborhood overnight.
“There is a planned development immediately next to our community. There’s planned to be two very large warehouses with…upwards of 60 trucks,” Zach Burrows, president of the neighborhood homeowners’ association, told council members at the June 9 meeting.
“We’ve spoken with a developer in the past, and they’ve indicated that there’s not necessarily a limit on the hours of operation or the number of trucks that might be transiting,” he continued. “We could see hundreds of trucks coming overnight. As you can imagine, that would be a tremendous impact to our community and those around us.”
Several council members and the city attorney noted in the meeting that the ordinance would likely need small changes going forward.
“I think that where we’ve arrived … involves trying to find a balance between not wanting to over penalize what would otherwise be normal behavior,” said Councilmember Billy Bates. “But also, that we need to lend maybe a bit more teeth to what we have here, for the cases where there really are egregious activities that detrimentally affect quality of life for their neighbors … I hope that we will continue to collect feedback and see how these new provisions work out.”
