HAMPTON – A question on the March Town Meeting ballot to amend the town’s entertainment ordinance seeks to give residents the power to regulate entertainment-related noise from businesses that sometimes annoy local communities. Following an event where many people complained about a loud music concert at a business on the west side of the town, Article 34, if approved, would amend the current Entertainment Activities Ordinance, according to Town Manager Jamie Sullivan. Its purpose is to prevent serious disruptions to citizens’ peace and order, to remove the unknowns that made enforcement difficult, and to give the owners of recreational facilities a clear picture of what is and is not allowed. “Most businesses want to be good neighbors,” Sullivan said. The committee included Sullivan, Selectwoman Amy Hansen, Police Chief Alex Reno, Police Chief David Hobbs, as well as residents James Scully and Mallory LeDuc, and business owners Al Fleury and Andy Hart. Reno said his department regularly deals with noise complaints. If his audience is coming out of a beach club that’s disturbing the neighborhood early in the morning, Reno said, police can handle that easily by arresting people for disturbing the peace. recreation permit, Reno said, the current law left out a lot and he and Hobbs discussed it with the committee. “We are law enforcement not law makers,” Reno said. “We explained to them that whatever they did, we believed they would do it. Steps were taken to remove the impact of the law and create an enforcement framework.”
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What’s the noise in Hampton?
According to Mr. Sullivan, a former police chief in Hampton, a critical part of modern entertainment is the decibel noise level. In the current regulations, it is not allowed for the noise to exceed the limit of the property of the license holders at a level of about 75 decibels for 30 seconds.
The Police Department has equipment to measure decibels, he said, but the 30-second requirement was difficult for police to follow because the volume of sound, especially music, fluctuates. To solve the problem, the change will trigger a noise violation every 10 seconds, Sullivan said.
The new law would limit the hours of recreational activities
The amendment seeks to restrict the playing of music or other audio-related activities to certain days and hours, Sullivan said.
According to the amendment, entertainment is prohibited between 1 am and noon on any weekday; outdoor recreation is allowed between noon and 11:59 pm on the beach and industrial districts.
In addition, recreation is not permitted between 9 p.m. and noon Sunday through Thursday, or between 11:59 p.m. and noon Friday and Saturday in the Route 1 district.
Outdoor entertainment is only allowed from Memorial Day to Columbus Day – the town’s peak tourist season – and can only take place between noon and 11:59 p.m. where permitted.
Sullivan said that under the revised ordinance, selectmen must approve any entertainment that is expected to draw 1,500 or more people. According to Sullivan, for now, that would include places like Smuttynose Brewing Co. and the Casino Ballroom.
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New entertainment licensing laws
The amendment removes the previous wording regarding the authority to regulate and issue licenses for entertainment, simplifying and maintaining that such activities are in the hands of the electorate, who will establish the fees.
It states that “no person shall conduct or engage in entertainment in any building or premises before obtaining a license from the board” and that the board shall establish the necessary conditions. It adds that temporary licenses issued “shall be valid for the period specified” in the temporary license.
The long clauses about “transferring” licenses may be removed and replaced, as a simple sentence that says licenses issued by selectmen may be “transferred to another with the consent of the board or otherwise deemed void.”
The change will allow the agency to respond to complaints from the “public,” about license holders. The current law states that complaints that initiate board proceedings must “come from plaintiffs.”
The amendment would allow that before a license is suspended or revoked, licensees may have the opportunity to contact complainants to find a legal solution.
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Changes in legal definitions
For the first time, this change will explain where the entertainment can be, placing it in the urban distribution zones: including the coastal area, as well as zones G and B; the town between the south, the north and the historical district; and all the places in the industrial zones of the city.
In the recent list of businesses where entertainment is allowed, the amendment would include the wording to include those with a “licensed liquor license in premises issued by the state or a permit issued by the town.”
It also adds “external events” to the section dealing with the selection of issuers of “Temporary Licenses.”
Registered voters will have the opportunity to discuss the amendment and other documents during the first Town Meeting, discussion session, on Saturday, Feb. 4, at 8:30 a.m. in the Hampton Academy gym. Registered voters can vote on all legal documents during the second round of Town Meeting, which is set for Tuesday, March 14, between 7am and 8pm at Winnacunnet High School.
