OLMSTED TOWNSHIP, Ohio — The quiet of Olmsted Township is what drew many to this southwest Cuyahoga County suburb, and the Township's Board of Trustees wants to make sure residents get it. So they passed a resolution that spells out the types of noises that will be prohibited in the township between 7 p.m. and 7 a.m. Monday through Friday, and before 9 a.m. and after 6 p.m. on Sunday.
A violation, punishable by a possible $100 fine on the first offense, $250 on the second offense, occurs when the loud noise is plainly audible at a distance of one hundred (100) feet or more from the property line of the source, or from any adjacent public street.
The ordinance lists eight categories offering examples of noise they are looking to protect against:
- Amplified Music: Radios, televisions, speakers, musical instruments, or amplification devices operated at a volume exceeding reasonable residential use.
- Yelling, Shouting, or Vocal Disturbances: Excessive yelling, shouting, hooting, whistling, or singing.
- Animals: Repetitive, continuous, or habitual barking, howling, or yelping by dogs or other
- Machinery and Power Equipment: Use of lawn mowers, leaf blowers, chainsaws, generators, or similar equipment.
- Horn Misuse: Unnecessary or prolonged sounding of horns or signaling devices, animals. Machinery and Power Equipment: Use of lawn mowers, leaf blowers, chainsaws, except as a warning of danger.
- Firearms: Discharge of firearms outside of permitted hunting or target shooting hours, in a repetitive or unreasonable manner.
- Revving Engines and Burnouts: Intentional revving of engines, rapid acceleration, burnouts, or similar conduct creating excessive noise.
- Modified or Defective Vehicle Mufflers: Operation of any motor vehicle with a modified, altered, bypassed, or defective exhaust or muffler system that increases noise beyond normal factory operation.
"I think it's a little crazy, I definitely think it's a little too far," said Casey Hale, whom we caught up with at an Olmsted Township Park. "I mean, people have to understand that there's kids and dogs that want to have fun."
Others we spoke with, like Tiffany, told us she supports the effort.
"I like that it's quiet, so that way people who work night shift, they can actually get some time to sleep too, and then the kids can wind down, not too loud," she said.
Vanessa though questioning the early cutoff.
"I think 7 o'clock in the summer is pretty early, and I mean the kids are going to be outside playing, so I don't think, I don't agree with it, maybe a little bit later, like 9 p.m. to 7 a.m."
A few blocks away, we ran into Rich Bacik taking advantage of the warm weather on Monday to tend to his lawn, something that he says he and others in his neighborhood would be limited in doing under the changes.
"I know guys that are working that are working until 5, 6 o'clock at night, and it's just not, 7 o'clock, that's almost when a lot of people start doing it," he said. "We have to come home, eat supper and then try to do our lawn work. It is loud, but everybody is just neighborly, and we do our thing."
News 5 reached out to Township officials, who declined our interview request. Township Administrator Gary Yelenosky told us by text, "the Board of Trustees will be putting out a statement later this week regarding the noise resolution and that statement should help provide some additional context."
Bacik, for one, hopes so because on the surface, he just feels it hinders more residents than it helps.
"We're being like punished, which that's what it feels like to me," Bacik said.
