In response to a spike in complaints from people living near bars and clubs, Houston has updated its noise ordinance to raise fines and require additional permits for amplified sound.
Recent updates to Houston’s noise ordinance seek to curb complaints from neighbors of bars and clubs, which rose sharply this year, up 44 percent between January and March of 2022. As Dylan McGuinness reports in the Houston Chronicle, the updated ordinance doubles the fine for noise violations and adds new permitting rules for amplified sound.
“The rules, passed by City Council in May, marked a compromise city officials said was necessary to balance competing interests: a boisterous nightlife scene and residents fed up with late-night music piping into their nearby homes,” McGuinness writes.
According to the article, “The measurement for those noise volumes would be taken from the property of any resident who calls police, under the ordinance. Officers would have to take a decibel reading with a certified sound meter to cite a business.”
Noise pollution is increasingly being recognized as a significant detriment to public health, and other cities, such as Paris and New York, are experimenting with automated enforcement using cameras and decibel meters to measure noise and identify violators.
FULL STORY: New nighttime noise rules take effect in Houston, doubling fine for rowdy bars
Sound Equity: The Unequal Impacts of Covid’s ‘Great Silence’
During the pandemic, many neighborhoods became quieter than ever—but not everyone experienced the benefits equally.
The Case Against Noise Pollution
A detailed description of how noise impacts health and wellbeing.
Using Tech to Control Noise Pollution
Several cities are piloting programs that use machine learning to identify and understand urban noise patterns and enforce noise ordinances.
Florida Considers Legalizing ADUs
Current state law allows — but doesn’t require — cities to permit accessory dwelling units in single-family residential neighborhoods.
HUD Announces Plan to Build Housing on Public Lands
The agency will identify federally owned parcels appropriate for housing development and streamline the regulatory process to lease or transfer land to housing authorities and nonprofit developers.
Conservatives’ Decongestion Pricing Flip-Flop
When it comes to solving traffic problems, the current federal administration is on track for failure, waste, and hypocrisy.
Research Shows More Roads = More Driving
A national study shows, once again, that increasing road supply induces additional vehicle travel, particularly over the long run.
Can Progressive Planners Appeal to Conservative Principles?
Trump’s approach to policies like NYC’s congestion pricing isn’t just irrational and wasteful — it defies the tenets of conservatism. But there are ways to reframe the issues.
Oak Park Plans Earth Month Events
Join Oak Park, Illinois, for a series of Earth Month events highlighting the importance of community engagement and education, integrating sustainability into local plans, and planning for the most vulnerable, such as birds, bees and butterflies.
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
Florida Atlantic University
City of Grandview
Harvard GSD Executive Education
UCLA Lewis Center for Regional Policy Studies
City of Piedmont, CA
NYU Wagner Graduate School of Public Service
City of Cambridge, Maryland