Literally years in the works, the Town Council finally adopted changes to its Town Code noise regulations at its Dec. 15 regular session.

The vote was 6-1 in favor of the changes presented after staff made final adjustments following a previous meeting.

Art Tolis was the dissenting vote. He said he really did not want law enforcement to have to rely on a device (decimeter) that complainants could use to target violations.

“I don’t think we have to do anything,” Tolis said.

The adopted ordinance calls for enforcement personnel to measure the noise level at the location adjacent to the structure where the complaint is coming from.

It defines daylight hours as 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. and nighttime hours as 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. These times will remain consistent throughout the year without regard to season.

The rules establish the maximum decibel level as 70 during daylight hours and 50 during nighttime hours.

The regulation would require permitted events to end generally at 10 p.m., but also provides for special events to continue until 11 p.m. with a maximum decibel level of 70 between 10 and 11 p.m.

Noise complaints at apartments or condominiums or other multi-unit dwellings would be measured from within the complainant’s adjoining unit.

Councilman Alan Magazine said he would consider asking for an amendment lowering the nighttime standard to 65 decibels.

William Heinz, owner of the CopperWynd Resort, which hosts numerous weddings and parties, nearly all outdoors, said he would accept the 70 decibel standard and do all he could to comply, but added that any lower would be financially difficult for his business.

“Less than 70 and we can’t do events,” Heinz said. “That would cost the town hundreds of thousands of dollars a year.”

Dori Wittrig, a Realtor who noted she has a significant history with the CopperWynd Resort, supported Heinz.

“It has never been easy for anyone to make a profit at CopperWynd,” Wittrig said. “To limit them further would be detrimental to the business.”

Attorneys for the Villas at CopperWynd neighborhood stated they still opposed the regulations as written.

Jake braking

Staff also added a provision to prohibit “jake braking” of trucks to slow the vehicle.

This element came about as a result of a complaint by a woman during call to the public at a previous meeting. She was talking about trucks removing dirt from construction sites within the Eagles Nest subdivision and using Golden Eagle Boulevard to leave the area.

Councilman Dennis Brown posed an amendment to exempt Golden Eagle Boulevard from the jake brake provision.

Brown noted the street is the only legal way to access the subdivision and it is too steep for normal braking. He said jake braking is the only way to slow a loaded truck on that steep incline. Normal braking would seize the brakes, causing them to fail by the time the truck got to the bottom of the hill.

Maricopa County Sheriff’s Capt. Dave Letourneau agreed with Brown. He said jake braking is safe, but it is awfully noisy.

The council adopted the exemption for Golden Eagle.