NEWPORT BEACH : City Vote on Noise Ordinance Postponed

The City Council has postponed a vote on a comprehensive noise ordinance to seek tougher standards on air conditioners.

Most of the ordinance won council approval in November, but regulations for leaf blowers and air conditioners were referred to the Economic Development and Environmental Quality Affairs committees.

The committees offered no changes to a proposed ceiling of 55 decibels for air conditioners. The average automatic dishwasher operates at about 60 decibels, planners said.

Many units in older areas of the city were installed without permits or exceed the proposed noise limits. The illegal ones would have to be removed, and the legal ones could exceed the limit up to 65 decibels until 2000.

But Mayor John W. Hedges asked to have the noise limit dropped to 50 decibels and the compliance deadline moved to 1998. His council district includes the Balboa Peninsula, where lots are narrow and homes are wedged together with little buffer space.

The committees did recommend relaxing the Planning Commission’s proposal to limit the hours for leaf blowers from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. The committees recommend permitting virtually unlimited use of quiet blowers, mainly electric models, with time restrictions on noisy models.

Under that recommendation, noisy leaf blowers could be used between 7 a.m. and 6:30 p.m. weekdays and from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturdays. Only quiet blowers could be used on Sundays and holidays.

The restriction is designed to encourage the industry to produce quieter models and allow gardeners to phase in their use.

The entire ordinance sets noise standards for commercial, residential and industrial areas of the city. It also would affect all activities regulated for noise, such as construction and music.

The ordinance comes back to the council July 10 and will be scheduled for two public hearings before a final council vote.