Shhhhh, All of Flagstaff needs to keep quiet, except for an exclusive few.The City is about to Take Away Your Rights!

Several members of City Council have directed staff to put the final touches on an Ordinance that will be voted on soon. 

This Ordinance will restrict noise, making it a “nuisance” if anyone makes noise that can be heard from anyone else’s doorstep. The proposed start times for this ordinance have been simply unreasonable; as early as 8 or 9pm during the week, and between 10pm-12am on Friday and Saturday nights. 

What does this mean for YOU?

ANY noise, including speech, could be subject to investigation by police. Imagine talking in your front or backyard, and a neighbor can hear you from their doorstep. You would be subject to a visit from the police and possible citation. This is in the entire Flagstaff City limits.

       ..…Unless you reside or own a business/building in what they consider the core of downtown; Route 66 to Cherry, Humphreys to WC Riles. Everyone in that square would be exempt. That includes a business owned by current councilwoman Miranda Sweet, who will soon be our Vice Mayor. She would be voting in an exemption that directly protects her. We categorize this as a conflict of interest.

How we got here:

Less than a handful of homeowners that rent/own/reside on East Benton and Cottage have continuously peppered city council with complaints about noise from one bar, and one restaurant.

• East Benton residents are behind Woodys Tattoo, Asian Station, Southside Tavern, Morning Glory Cafe, Northern Arizona Yoga Center, and Evans Fish and Chips
• Cottage Street residents are behind Tinderbox, Annex, and Tourist Home

These residents have champions for their cause; Council Members Jim McCarthy and Deborah Harris. These lame duck members are pushing really hard as their terms are set to expire in a little over a month. These two are pushing for extreme provisions such as:

• “Any noise” – This would include talking, whistling, laughing…
• “Can be heard at someone's doorstep”
• These noises don’t actually have to be heard in your home or business, and disturb you, they just have to make it to your doorstep outside.
• 9pm was a compromise, these two council members lobbied for as early as 6pm.

Again this applies to anyone and everyone within City limits, except anyone in the “exemption” zone. Those that are privileged enough to own, reside, lease, or conduct business within that zone, like our future Vice Mayor, are exempt.

There is more history than can be written here, because this would become a novel. But to provide you with some context:

• The City has attempted to deal with this before. To such an extent they hired a company to do a noise study at a cost of over $30,000. This noise study showed nothing surprising; Urban noise is present! It showed that these few neighbors are not subject to any more noise than anyone else in the greater downtown area. That said, choosing to live behind a bar probably does subject you to undulations. Events, Holidays, weekends…
  This noise study and subsequent recommendations for a noise ordinance that uses math and logic has been discarded, as it doesn’t fit the narrative.

• The City has tried to prosecute an employee of Southside Tavern for holding a “Nuisance Party.” A court dismissed this case, rightfully.

• There is no pervasive noise problem throughout the City. The former chief of police touted a number of over 600+ noise complaints in a six month period. We obtained those police reports/records. All but 14 simply contained the word “noise,” i.e. someone was shouting over a parking spot, someone was shouting for having their gym membership revoked.… And of those 14, three were against two bars, and by the same few people who represent +90% of all noise complaints. In fact, there have been 14 noise complaints within the past 90 days. Very similar story as above; Only one complaint– against one bar– by the same person who has made copious amounts of complaints. 

We are not alone in our concerns.

• Current Vice Mayor, Austin Aslan, has stated that “We (council) are trying to use a wrecking ball on a rusty nail.”
• Council Member Lori Mathews and Vice Mayor Austin Aslan have correctly analyzed the situation. They have acknowledged that this is a private dispute between a few parties, and we should allow it to be so. 

We contend, as the data has always shown, there is not a noise problem throughout the City. This is a massive ‘taking’ and potential overreach of the majority of City Council, while protecting those in the “Exempt” zone. And everyone should be aware, a taking of this nature can result in unintended consequences. It’s also plainly anti-business, unless of course you’re in the exemption zone.

So please join us in signing this petition, and tell City Council:

• Declare Miranda Sweet conflicted and she must recuse herself from crafting and voting on an Exemption Zone!
• Do not create an Exemption Zone!
• The proposed Noise Ordinance, as it’s being crafted, is overreaching and not necessary!
• Do not change the Nuisance Noise Ordinance beyond its current times and scope!
• Do not waste our precious police resources!
• Declare this a private dispute that should be handled as such. This is a matter for the courts, not an oppressive ordinance for the whole City!

11/20/24 Update:

Last night, after a long evening of comments and discussion, City Council ultimately killed this proposed ordinance, in favor of taking a fresh start and using the study that the residents of Flagstaff paid for. We have always contended that this is where the discussions should start. This 185 page study is very comprehensive, and shows a great deal of data, including baseline measurements...measurements taken during quiet daytime hours for instance. 

The business community, while not in total agreement with everything, looks forward to having a logical conversation, using this data, to craft something that is workable. We also think that it's important for any affected neighbors to know, today, and into the future, that there is an objective standard that will apply. 

We look forward to hopefully having these conversations in the near future, and finding a resolution that is ultimately reasonable for ALL of Flagstaff. 

Thank You for all your support. Attached is the Noise Study. Please read, participate.

https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/3apd4w3f49g772ei47da6/Copy-2022.07.29-Nosie-Study-Full.pdf?rlkey=815sr3uq9xk344qt4pa6abl2m&st=2g7uk3b7&dl=0