City of Saint Paul - File #: Ord 23-60

• File #: Ord 23-60
• Version: 1
• Type: Ordinance
• Status: Passed
• In control: City Council
• Final action: 12/13/2023
• Title: Amending Chapter 293 of the Legislative Code to create an administrative process for Amplified Sound Permits and modify the process for Sound Level Variances.
• Sponsors: Amy Brendmoen, Nelsie Yang

Date	Ver.	Action By	Action	Result
12/18/2023	1	Mayor's Office	Signed
12/13/2023	1	City Council	Adopted	Pass
12/6/2023	1	City Council	Laid Over to Final Adoption	Pass
11/15/2023	1	City Council	Laid Over to Second Reading

Title
Amending Chapter 293 of the Legislative Code to create an administrative process for Amplified Sound Permits and modify the process for Sound Level Variances.
Body
THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SAINT PAUL DOES ORDAIN:
Section 1
WHEREAS, the Saint Paul Code of Ordinances (Chapter 293), in line with Minnesota Statute, establishes maximum permitted sound levels for all areas of the City; and

WHEREAS, current Ordinance requires that a request, that is not related to a community festival, for a variance from the stipulated sound levels must be reviewed and approved by the Saint Paul City Council at a public hearing; and

WHEREAS, the vast majority of sound level variance City Council public hearings have no testimony; and

WHEREAS, the current sound level variance process requirement that individuals submit variance applications 60 days in advance can result in unnecessary hardship; and

WHEREAS, the current variance process unnecessarily requires significant staff resources; and

WHEREAS, the Department of Safety and Inspections is currently responsible for assessing each sound level variance request and making specific recommendations to the City Council; and

WHEREAS, many cities administratively approve lower sound level variance requests; and

WHEREAS, the Department of Safety and Inspections and the Parks and Recreation Department are proposing the creation of Amplified Sound Level Permits to support the administrative review and approval of lower sound level variance requests, reserving the City Council sound level variance review and approval public hearing process for only those that do not meet the Amplified Sound Level Permit requirements; now, therefore be it

RESOLVED, that the Saint Paul City Council does hereby ordain that Saint Paul Code of Ordinances Chapter 293 is hereby amended as follows to update and to create an Amplified Sound Level Permit with specific requirements related to permitted sound levels, permit fee, event locations, and...