BANDERA, Texas — A new noise law is rattling some residents in Bandera.
On Tuesday, the Bandera City Council approved several amendments to its existing ordinance. Several people who attended the meeting voiced concerns about the impact it could have on the "Cowboy Capital."
“A lot of people in this town care about live music,” said Jayson Zamora. “It’s what brings a lot of people out. It’s part of the cowboy culture.”
Zamora works at Kickback Korner Bar and Grill on Main Street.
“Most live music starts at nine o’clock,” he said. “With this ordinance, anyone is able to make a call to complain and the businesses could get fined up to $2,000. As a town that relies on tourism, that is going to impact businesses significantly.”
Bandera City Council Member Tony Battle says in some ways, the new ordinance is less restrictive than the previous one. It allows for slightly louder noise levels during the day and over the weekend.
“We don’t have a central business district and a suburbia,” said Battle. “We are right here on top of each other. So, some of these bars actually share a property line with residential areas. We had to find a true compromise.”
Battle says the previous ordinance was broken.
“This was actually brought to us by one of the bar owners because they knew every weekend, they had to apply for a special use permit in order to play loud music,” he said. “They knew they weren’t in compliance with the current ordinance. They asked us to look at this.”
However, Bandera Mayor Rebecca Gibson believes even the changes are too restrictive. She pushed City Council to consider several revisions. In the end, only minor changes were approved.
With the revisions, the new ordinance includes quiet hours from 10 p.m. until 8 a.m. in residential and nonresidential areas. During this time, sound must not exceed 55 decibels at the edges of a property.
During the day, sound must not exceed 65 decibels, which is up from the 63-decibel maximum under the previous ordinance.
Sound produced by power tools, lawnmowers, saws and drills is only permitted between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m.
Businesses may produce noise up to 75 decibels from 5 p.m. to 11:30 p.m. on Fridays on property lines, and from noon to 11:30 p.m. on weekends. Between 11:30 p.m. and 1 a.m. on Fridays and Saturdays, venues must reduce the noise to 65 decibels. After that, quiet hour regulations apply.
Any vehicle that creates an unreasonable or unusual noise is unlawful.
Animals that make frequent noise that unreasonably disturbs people is unlawful.
Violators could be fined up to $2,000.
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