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Hamptons – About March town meeting vote Changes to the town’s entertainment ordinance are intended to give residents better control over entertainment-related noise from businesses that can sometimes irritate the local community. Town Manager Jamie Sullivan said Title 34, if passed, would amend the town’s existing recreational activities ordinance after some residents complained about loud concerts at a business on the west side of town. It aims to rein in loud disruptions to citizens’ peace and quiet, remove the ambiguity that makes law enforcement problematic, and give entertainment venue owners a clear understanding of what’s allowed and what’s not. “Most businesses want to be good neighbors,” Sullivan said. The amendment was crafted by a committee of residents and business stakeholders from Uptown and Beaches. The committee includes Sullivan, Assemblywoman Amy Hanson, Police Chief Alex Reynolds, former Police Chief David Hobbs, as well as residents James Scully and Mallory LeDuc, and business owner Alfred Lee and Andy Hart. Reynolds said his department regularly deals with noise complaints. If rowdy patrons leaving a beach bar in the early hours of the morning are disrupting the community, police can, and do, easily deal with that, arresting them for disturbing the peace, Reno said. Recreational licenses, Reno said the current statute leaves a lot to be desired, and he and Hobbs discussed the issue with the commission. “We are enforcers, not law creators,” Reno said. “We explained that whatever they do, we want them to enforce it. Steps have been taken to remove subjectivity from the regulations and lay the groundwork for enforcement.”
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According to Sullivan, a former Hampton police chief, the problematic part of the current recreation ordinance is noise-level decibel standards. Under the current regulations, it is illegal for the sound to exceed the licensee’s property boundaries, reach a level of about 75 decibels and last for 30 seconds.
Police departments do have decibel reading equipment, but the 30-second requirement is Police Difficult to Enforce Law Because volume, especially music, fluctuates constantly. To rectify the situation, the amendment sets the noise level violation at 10 seconds, Sullivan said.
New regulations will limit hours for recreational activities
Sullivan said the proposed amendment would limit the playing of music or other sound-related activities on certain days and times.
Under the amendment, entertainment is not allowed between 1am and noon any day of the week; outdoor recreation is only permitted on beaches and industrial areas between noon and 11:59pm.
Additionally, entertainment is not permitted in the Route 1 town area from 9 p.m. to noon Sunday through Thursday, or 11:59 p.m. to 11 a.m. to noon Friday through Saturday.
Outdoor recreation is only permitted between Memorial Day and Columbus Day (the town’s main tourist season), and only when permitted between noon and 11:59 p.m.
Under the revised ordinance, selectors must approve any entertainment projected to attract 1,500 people or more, Sullivan said. For now, that would include places like the Smuttynose Brewing Co. and the Casino Ballroom, according to Sullivan.
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New Rules for Issuing Entertainment Licenses
The amendment simplifies previous language related to the authority to regulate and issue entertainment licenses by removing it, while maintaining such responsibilities in the hands of select individuals responsible for setting license fees.
It states that “no person shall engage in or provide entertainment in any building or venue without the permission of the Commission,” and that the Commission will set standards. It also added that any temporary license granted on the temporary license “shall be valid for the specified period”.
The amendment would remove a lengthy clause regarding the “assignment” of the license, in other words, that an entertainment license issued by a select person may only be “assigned to another person with the approval of the Board of Directors and shall otherwise be deemed void.”
The proposed amendment would allow the commission to hold hearings on complaints “from members of the public” against people holding entertainment permits. Current regulations state that complaints triggering a possible board hearing must come from a “relative.”
The amendment would allow licensees the opportunity to mediate with complainants in an effort to reach an agreed resolution before a license is suspended or revoked.
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Changes to Regulation Definitions
For the first time, the amendment defines the location of recreational activities, limiting them to the town’s zoning boundaries: including the beach area, as well as the G and B areas; the south, north, and historic districts of the town center; and all properties located in the town’s industrial area.
The amendment would add the phrase to the current list of establishments that allow entertainment to include those with a “valid state liquor license for establishments or a town-issued dance hall license.”
It also added “outdoor activities” to the terms related to the issuance of “temporary recreational licenses” by select persons.
Registered voters will have the opportunity to discuss this amendment and other enabling provisions at the first meeting of the town meeting on Saturday, February 4 at 8:30 a.m. in Hampton College Gymnasium. Registered voters can vote on all enabling provisions at the second town meeting scheduled for Tuesday, March 14, from 7:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. at Winnaquenette High School.
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