After social media outrage following two controversial amendments to Cornelia’s noise ordinance, no one showed up to speak for or against the amendments at the public forum during Cornelia’s Tuesday meeting.
The City of Cornelia voted unanimously to pass controversial amendments to the city’s noise ordinance at their Sept. 7 meeting. The changes make loud music emitting from residential properties and loud exhaust emitting from vehicles ticketable offenses.
The city has faced backlash from many members of the public regarding the two noise ordinances, which evolved from a June ordinance created to address large gatherings in the city’s residential areas.
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Following the June public forum, the commission came to the conclusion that the gatherings themselves weren’t the problem, but rather the noise that came from them. At their August meeting, the commission brought two new amendments to the noise ordinance forward.
The two amendments make music that can be heard 100 feet away from a residential property between 10 p.m. and 10 a.m., as well as operating a motorized vehicle that emits noise exceeding 95 decibels from 50 feet away on public roads, ticketable offenses.
The city has been widely criticized for these amendments, with citizens calling them restrictive of freedoms, an overstep and excessive. While no citizens came to speak on the amendments at the public forum during the city commission’s Tuesday night meeting, City Manager Donald Anderson did listen to citizen comments on social media. Anderson recommended the city change the residential noise amendment to only apply between the hours of 10 p.m. and 10 a.m., rather than apply 24 hours a day.
The amendments, with the time restriction change, passed unanimously.
A recording of the meeting is available on the city’s Facebook page.
This article has been updated.
