HUNTSVILLE, Alabama - More than 440 people have signed an online petition asking the Huntsville City Council to relax the city's noise ordinance for live music.

Huntsville resident Chuck Harwood started the "Keep Downtown Loud!" petition on the change.org website just over a week ago. Live music played at a licensed restaurant or permitted event should be capped at 100 decibels at the sound source - say a speaker or amplifier -- and 70 decibels when measured from a distance of 60 feet, the petition says.

For live music in a public place - musicians in the park, for example - the petition suggests an 85-decibel maximum at the sound source and 65 decibels measured from 60 feet away.

Huntsville's current 62-decibel sound threshold for businesses has been in place since 1986. The ordinance allows readings to be taken as close as 25 feet from the source, but Natural Resources Director Danny Shea said it seldom happens that way. Most times, he said, measurements are taken at the property line of the person making the noise complaint.

The sound ordinance has been in the spotlight since April 20, when musician Rob Aldridge of the band Fatso was fined $500 for playing too loud on the patio of Humphrey's Bar & Grill. Some residents of the new Belk Hudson Lofts apartment building on Washington Street have complained about loud music coming from Humphrey's.

Aldridge was ticketed when the band's final song of the night measured 95 decibels at Humphrey's and 70 decibels on the roof of the Belk Hudson building.

Shea said Humphrey's is unique because sound from the patio is "reflected" across Washington Street onto the upper floors of the Belk Hudson Lofts. CityScapes, the company that owns Humphrey's, may install sound-absorbing fabric on the roof and patio walls in hopes of better containing the noise from guitars, drums and other amplified instruments.

"I think solutions to that problem can be found," Shea said Thursday. "Both Humphrey's and Belk Hudson Lofts have been very cooperative listening to ideas and are anxious to find a resolution.

"If you've got everybody wanting to get to the same place," he said, "you can usually get there."

Mark Russell

City Council President Mark Russell said he considers the Aldridge fine "an isolated incident that got blown out of proportion."

"We need some time for everybody to work together," Russell said Thursday. "We want outdoor music - we've just got to figure it out. I don't think we'll change (the sound ordinance) until we get a lot more information."

Councilman Bill Kling said he would consider relaxing the 62-decibel limit for live outdoor music as long as it does not infringe on people living nearby. "I think there's a solution, a middle ground," he said Thursday.

Meanwhile, the "Keep Downtown Loud!" petition is gaining support, with 443 signatures as of 4:20 p.m. today. It may be presented at the City Council's May 23 meeting.

Harwood, the petition organizer, could not be reached for comment. But his suggested 100 decibel sound limit for live music measured at the source is in line with the thinking of many al.com readers.

An unscientific poll on al.com last week asked, "What's an appropriate noise limit for downtown Huntsville's entertainment district?" Ninety decibels was the most popular answer (52.7 percent of the total votes cast) followed by 80 decibels (24.6 percent). Others suggested decibel limits as high as 1,000.

"Don't live next to a bar if you want it to be quiet," one commenter wrote.

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