Noise and Statues
City relaxes noise regulations, passes ordinance for lots,
and talks Century Walk at most recent meeting

Rewind to last summer. Potter's Place, Rizzo's, Jilly's and other bars in downtown Naperville had to pull the plug on its live music at their outdoor seating areas due to stricter enforcement of the city's noise ordinance.

Some complained of a loss in revenues.

Fast forward to the Tuesday April 15th City Council meeting. Council says maybe this summer will be different. They amended the current ordinance that limits noise level to 100 feet from an establishment to 300 feet.

"Last year, when we went to check the decibels at 100 feet, and realized that's pretty restrictive," Mayor George Pradel said.

The issue set off a controversy for some bar and restaurant owners and a downtown resident who complained that the ordinance was constantly being violated.

Resident Eli Hodapp posted a video on YouTube.com early in the summer to document the sound heard from the bars near his apartment at Jefferson Avenue and Washington Street.

"I know this been an emotional thing to discuss since last summer," Councilman Kenn Miller said. "I think it's a good compromise."

Downtown establishments will now be able to play music at louder levels as long as the music is not audible from 300 feet away. The council wanted to do away with a measurement performed in decibels because it is too difficult to distinguish the root of the sound.

The old ordinance allowed restaurant and bar owners to play live or recorded music up until 30 minutes before they stopped serving alcohol; the new ordinance will only allow establishments to play live music 1 hour before last call and 30 minutes for recorded music.

The Naperville Police Department will enforce the new ordinance.

After conducting research last summer, city staff found that the 100-foot restriction makes playing live music "virtually impossible" as stated in the new proposal.

Councilman Richard Furstenau, the only dissenting vote, said he wasn’t for seeing this ordinance go further.

"Downtown is moving into the neighborhoods," Furstenau said. "I can hear RibFest from my house. I'm not complaining about RibFest; I think everyone can understand what's going on in Naperville to hear RibFest at that time of year. But with downtown, it's May to October. And it’s not 10 o’ clock at night; it's 1 in the morning."

Council also cracked down on Naperville's vacant lots, saying they need to look tidier. The new ordinance passed will penalize owners and developers for not meeting certain requirements.

Owners of residential lots must have the space up to positive grade to avoid flooding and have turf installed within one year of receiving a complaint. These impact lot owners who are completely surrounded by occupied lots or lots within a subdivision that is 90 percent occupied. Lots contained in subdivisions constructed in less than five years aren’t included in the ordinance.

"I would rather the council doesn't approve any resolution but I do think this (ordinance) is fair," Hal Stembridge, owner of Stembridge Builders Inc. in Naperville said at the meeting.

Teardown sites will need to have the lot seeded and raised for positive drainage within 30 days of when the structure is razed, as currently enforced in the city.

Council also approved its Special Events and Cultural Amenities Fund for the coming fiscal year, which gives about $2.57 million to local charities. SECA funds are from the citywide 1 percent food and beverage tax.

The council looked again at Century Walk, a local not for profit that installs public art in Naperville. Century Walk Corp. will get $274,000 from the city, and it plans to install statues of Naperville philanthropists Harold and Margaret Moser downtown at St. Peter and Paul Church. The statues cost $130,500.

Councilman Dick Furstenau tried to sway the group on future statues. He’s worried that a commemorative statue hasn't been made yet to honor Naperville's founder, Joe Naper.

The question of where the statues are to be erected also came into play. Councilman Doug Krause warned the council against building on private property at SS Peter and Paul, and that some might see it as a junction of church and state.