Raleigh city leaders call for change to noise policy

RALEIGH, N.C. (WTVD) -- A new report was presented to Raleigh city leaders on Tuesday, emphasizing the ways city officials can improve vibrancy and safety in the city. That report was commissioned by the City Council in January 2024 through an external consultant, Responsible Hospitality Institute -- or RHI -- and took on familiar topics such as how to better activate public areas downtown and improve safety and pedestrian access.

The firm's findings also reopened debate on a topic that city leaders have discussed at length in the past two years: the city's noise policy and the best way to enforce it.

"It's incredibly helpful," said Mayor Janet Cowell on RHI's findings. "Again, to me, just on the noise ordinance to say, 'I've done this in 80 cities, you guys are using a sound ordinance that I don't think is best practice', that is extremely helpful to me to know that."

Last year, the city changed its noise ordinance to no longer use decibel levels for enforcement, but what's called the "reasonable person" standard.

Cowell told ABC11 that she thinks that's too subjective and doesn't work.

"I felt just a tangible sense of relief listening to this conversation, because I've struggled so much just in my four months. I just don't understand. I see no path in the current system," she said.

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After the presentation, ABC11 spoke with Larry Miller, who advocates for businesses and residents in the Glenwood South area. He said businesses would appreciate more transparency in the city policy.

"'Reasonable person' is very difficult to define, and it's and it's harder to administer for the policemen out on the street," he said.

Another major priority in the report revolved around improving the city's streetscapes on Fayetteville Street and Glenwood Avenue through measures like widening and expanding sidewalks.

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"If you go to Glenwood South, people are literally walking in the street because the sidewalks cannot accommodate that traffic, that pedestrian flow," said councilmember Mitchell Silver after the report was read.

It's a project that Downtown Raleigh Alliance President Bill King is already working on through his organization's strategic plan for downtown, and one he hopes they can get off the ground soon.

"I think during really heavy nightlife times, you got people running into each other because it's so narrow and so tight. So that creates conflict as well. So there's a lot of reasons why the streetscape improvement in that district is really important," King said.