Howling dogs, un-mufflered leaf blowers and booming car stereos could cost you $2,000 in fines, under a noise ordinance adopted unanimously by the Morristown council on Tuesday.
It was among several safety- and quality-of-life measure approved by the governing body with little discussion and no dissent during an hour-long virtual session.
The council re-imposed a 2013 ban on evening use of power landscaping and maintenance tools by homeowners and contractors. Mufflers will be required on these devices.
Electric scooters and skateboards? Not on town sidewalks. “Human-powered” versions must steer clear of downtown sidewalks.
Council members also voted to add cannabis to the no-smoking ban in town parks — parks may have weeds, but no weed — and to require residents to deposit trash in securely tied plastic bags inside trash cans, instead of leaving bags on curbs, where critters can chow down.
The no-smoking ordinance, which bars vaping as well as smoking of tobacco and cannabis in parks, states that it’s meant to enforce a 2018 New Jersey law banning smoking at public parks and beaches. Morristown fines can escalate from $250 to $1,000.
“This ordinance makes it clear that cannabis is included in the smoking prohibition in parks,” said town Administrator Jillian Barrick, responding to Councilwoman Tawanna Cotten, who advocated for the regulation.
The council introduced a measure to ban Segways, hoverboards and electric bicycles, scooters, skateboards and unicycles from all town sidewalks.
Other amendments, also up for a final vote on Sept. 28, 2021, would prohibit anyone over age 12 from using “human powered” skateboards, scooters and roller blades on downtown sidewalks.
“You can ride on the sidewalk outside the central business district, and in any park,” said Council President Stefan Armington. “This treats skateboards, scooters and roller blades just like bikes.”
Prohibited sidewalks are:
Speedwell Avenue between Sussex Avenue and The Green; Morris Avenue between Elm Street and The Green; South Street between Elm Street and the Green; Washington Street between Atno Avenue/Phoenix Avenue and The Green; and North-, West-, South- and East Park Place, around the Green.
“Tricks” on “public or private benches, rails, walls, fences or any other public or private infrastructure” would be banned.
Anyone under 17 must wear a helmet when using either human-powered or electric personal transportation devices. Where sidewalk use is allowed, operators of such conveyances must yield to pedestrians.
Violations may result in police confiscation of these devices, and fetch fines of up to $500 for infractions involving human-powered ones. Penalties for violations involving electric devices are not specified.
These proposed amendments would repeal stricter measures that banned scooters, skateboards and roller blades from all town parks and, with narrow exceptions, from every sidewalk. It’s unclear whether deletion of this passage authorizes electric vehicles in parks.
WHAT DID YOU SAY? THE LEAF BLOWERS DROWNED YOU OUT
Based on model restrictions by the state Department of Environmental Protection, the noise ordinance prohibits sound “which unreasonably disturbs or interferes with the peace, comfort, and repose of any resident.”
Noise thresholds are established for daytime and nighttime. For enforcement, the ordinance creates two types of officials–those certified to use a decibel meter, and those who are not. They are given broad discretion.
Concerns about noise–and how to measure it–factored heavily in the council’s April decision to nix rooftop dining proposed by the Iron Bar.
The muffler requirement for motorized landscaping- and yard gear may be music to the ears of homeowners and tenants whose neighborhoods often sound like jet runways during the warm months.
But as always, the devil is in the details. (Emphasis added below.)
Morristown’s ordinance defines “sound reduction device” as any “muffler, baffle, shroud, jacket, enclosure, isolator, or dampener provided by the manufacturer with the equipment, or that is otherwise required, that mitigates the sound emissions of the equipment.”
It doesn’t sound like too many manufacturers of leaf blowers are providing effective muffling gear with their products–especially when multiple blowers are attacking a lawn.
Prolonged exposure to loud noise can damage hearing permanently and may be linked to hypertension, depression and heart disease.
“Calling noise a nuisance is like calling smog an inconvenience. Noise must be considered a hazard to the health of people everywhere,” former U.S. Surgeon General William H. Stewart told the Miami Herald.
“Noise…is the secondhand smoke of this era,” according to The Atlantic, which reports that concerns about noise and pollution have led at least 100 U.S. cities to ban or restrict backpack blowers. Most of the bans are in California, the only state where municipalities can regulate air pollution.
In other sidewalk news, meanwhile, the council indicated it’s likely to extend outdoor dining for restaurants until Oct. 30, 2021.
Armington also expressed interest in reviving plans to join with Morris Township and Madison in a bicycle sharing program; the TransOptions agency may be invited to present an update at the next council meeting.
Call me crazy but the statistics bear me out.
Margret Brady: “Cars are weapons that kill innocent victims.” That’s crazy talk. First, cars are not weapons just as chairs are not weapons. In other words, they are not weapons unless they are wrongly used as one. A gun is not like a car. It is designed for one thing: As a weapon. A car is not designed that way.
Second, not all victims are innocent.
Glad to clear that up for you. No need to thank me!
Tony-being an a hole not a crime either.
skateboarding is not a crime
To: Stay in your lane. Cyclists have the same rights and responsibilities as motor vehicles.
Cars are weapons that kill innocent victims, unlike most other means of local transportation. I agree with Matt on many of his points. Sadly, it appears almost as if our governing body has been operating in a vacuum with few attending meetings or giving the governing body any input. They will include your e-mails in the public record if you send them. You can call your council people and register your support or opposition. Neglect of our civic responsibilities has a price.
When for the love of God are people, especially journalists, going to stop calling cannabis “weed/pot” etc. It’s “cannabis.” If you wrote an article about alcohol would you call it “hooch?”
While we are at it let’s inform bicycle riders that they are *not* cars, and they don’t have a right to ride in the roadway (over the shoulder line) and force cars to go into the opposing lane to go around them. The entitled attitude of many of these cyclists is astounding.
HOT DIGGITY DOG!!
“Making Morristown a cyclist destination town could greatly stimulate our local economy by encouraging more foot traffic around downtown,”….Matthew, with all due respect – most towns in this beautiful part of the state have been cyclist destinations for years (enter Marty’s Reliable Cycle, Gran Tourno, etc). What’s CHANGED is the optic that residents come first, when in actuality they feel LAST. Have you tried to navigate a side-walk lately on a date or with your grandmother this year? I support the old school approach – CARS have right of way as they as they can in fact be used as leathal weapons, mind you. What will bring jobs is CARS which move much faster, not to mention TRAINS, in bringing FOOT TRAFFIC to Morristown. Let the people decide their mode of travel not have it dictated by some less-informed, well-intentioned human. Peace.
Sounds all fine and good, but lets also make sure we invest in making riding on the streets safer for cyclists, especially if you’re going to make the street the only legal place to ride, which I completely support. Studies show that cyclists are much safer in the road, as long as they are protected.
Morristown is in desperate need of a micro-mobility infrastructure overhaul. The bike lanes are faded or non existent, signs that ask to “share the road” are counter productive as they infer that the giant trucks and boomer sports cars can zoom around cyclists. We need protected brightly colored bike lanes with barriers like the ones just constructed for the Brooklyn bridge. Bike lanes have proved to provide good labor jobs, with drastically less material expense costs than roads for cars.
Making Morristown a cyclist destination town could greatly stimulate our local economy by encouraging more foot traffic around downtown. We need safe designated spots for people to lock up their bikes, bicycle lockers near train station, maybe places to re-charge e-bikes in different corners around downtown. We should take car parking off of South St and build barriered bike lanes and mini parks for outdoor dining instead. We could invite local artists to contribute to design and murals that would highlight our towns history, and dedication to citizens, instead of cars.
I’m going to start pushing the town for these measures at meetings, and I hope I can find some fellow advocates to join the cause for a bike friendly Morristown.