The Chapel Hill Town Council passed changes to its noise ordinance, which members said disproportionately impacted people of lower socioeconomic status.

Chapel Hill Town Council unanimously approved removing criminal penalties from its noise ordinance in June, making noise violations a civil offense. Previously, violators of the town’s noise ordinance could face imprisonment of up to 10 days along with fines of up to $150.

The changes to the ordinance eliminate the misdemeanor charge and establish an escalating fine system. Fines start at $25 for the first offense, $75 for the second, $150 for the third and $250 for the fourth and subsequent noise violations with a maximum of $500.

While civil penalties have been in the noise ordinance for some time, the purpose of the change is to strengthen and streamline fine collection and remove the possibility for imprisonment.

Chapel Hill Mayor Pam Hemminger said the shift from criminal to civil offenses in the noise ordinance is the first step in decriminalizing several other ordinances in town.

“It’s not all encompassing, and we’ve got other ones to do,” Hemminger said. “The staff has worked really hard to find a pathway forward that we can use now to move other criminal penalties for things that shouldn’t be criminalized. We can use it in response to equity, policing and all those types of things.”

Hemminger said the decriminalization strategy has proven effective at curbing behavior in other North Carolina towns like Hillsborough and Wilmington.

Council member Allen Buansi thanked town staff and attorneys for their commitment to fixing this ordinance. He said he believes it has been unfairly enforced.

“In Chapel Hill we pride ourselves on being a place of inclusivity,” Buansi said. “In talking about the criminalization of poverty, ordinances like these have historically intended to affect disproportionately poor people. So, I thank our staff for really going to work.”

Hemminger said the goal of the updated ordinance is to both decriminalize poverty and have effectively limit ordinance violations. She said she also hopes it will create a pathway for future decriminalization efforts.

More information about the town noise ordinance can be found here.

 

Featured photo via the Town of Chapel Hill

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