The Nashville Town Council is asking for feedback about changes proposed to its noise ordinance — or whether the town even needs a noise ordinance at all.

Nashville has had some rules governing sound since the 1970s, but the county outside Nashville has no noise ordinance.

A request to change the town’s current noise ordinance — which went into effect in 2012 — went before the town council in May, initiated by the owners of Hard Truth Hills. At the June town council meeting, Town Attorney James T. Roberts introduced a new version of the ordinance to consider.

A key difference between this version and the one currently enforced is separating and defining music from other types of noise. “’Noise’ does not include ‘music’ as defined herein,” it says, and adds: “The Council further finds that the performance of music for entertainment purposes has become an integral part of the town’s tourism economy and should be encouraged subject to reasonable regulation to protect the comfort of the town’s residents.”

Previously, music that could be heard 25 feet from the property line where it originated was prohibited.

The new ordinance version still includes prohibitions on playing music that is “clearly audible” 25 feet from a vehicle, and, in a residential district, playing a “sound amplifier, musical instrument” or other item so that the sound can be “heard outside the immediate premises where it is being produced, and is an annoyance to another person or persons.”

However, a new section makes an exception for the “live performance of music for entertainment purposes in a business district.”

The details of how live music can be played legally in Nashville have not been filled in yet, as the council would like to receive public input on allowable hours and decibel levels indoors and outdoors when measured 10 feet from the stage.

Council member Anna Hofstetter asked what would happen if she had people over to sit around a campfire and play music in her backyard, since she lives in a residential district and not a business district. The council briefly discussed whether they should change the wording to clarify that the law applies to “live music for commercial entertainment purposes.”

Another suggestion Roberts had was for the town to issue annual permits for live music performances outdoors and possibly set rules for hours or volume on a case-by-case or location-by-location basis. The town currently doesn’t have a process by which to do that.

Churches are exempt from the provisions of this ordinance; it was not clear if noise or music from events at the high school track/football field would be or not.

Hofstetter said she didn’t like the sound of “case-by-case basis”; she wants simple rules that clearly articulate the expectations, and she didn’t think Roberts’ new draft was quite there yet.

Three owners and a vice president of Hard Truth Hills asked in May for an ordinance rewrite to allow outdoor music performances until 10 p.m. on Fridays, Saturdays and holidays and at a volume of up to 85 decibels. The venue has been rebuilding, expanding and soundproofing its outdoor stage for an anticipated reopening this week.

Two residents in the audience at the June council meeting asked why the town even had a noise ordinance at all and suggested that the council consider abolishing it.

Penny Scroggins said she hadn’t seen much effect of the noise ordinance thus far, and she thought there were more important things the council could be spending its energy on.

Andrew Tilton said he didn’t want to see the ordinance limit artists’ creativity and he also thought that the proposed ordinance contained some vagueness. “Maybe we try abolishing it for a bit and see what happens,” he said. “That doesn’t mean we can’t go back.”

Town council member Nancy Crocker said she’d also heard suggestions of abolishing it. Council President Jane Gore said she wasn’t in favor of taking that step and she hadn’t heard suggestions of abolishing it before then.

Gore suggested that council members take this draft home and come back with some thoughts at the July meeting of how it should be changed. Any town residents with opinions on time limits, decibel limits or other comments can send them to their town council representatives; their email addresses are listed on the town’s website.

The draft ordinance is posted at townofnashville.org/town-council under “2021 ordinances” and can be read here: https://static1.squarespace.com/static/57b32613b8a79bb69f00a87e/t/60ccdf79278f4a55adc18da8/1624039290376/Ordinance+2021-07+Town+of+Nashville+Ordinance+Regulating+Sound+-draft+%231+jtr.pdf