By CRAIG D. SCHENCK
Sentinel staff
LINWOOD — The city’s nuisance ordinance now has some teeth after City Council unanimously approved amending it June 23 following complaints about music and other noise emanating from Linwood Country Club.
The new language, which applies only to the county club and The Exchange, states:
“A commercial establishment, which is licensed and authorized to sell alcoholic beverages, from which loud noise emanates as a result of musical instruments, bands, mechanical musical devices and/or any sound reproduction device, including but not limited to megaphones, air horns and whistles, live entertainment or patrons, from either the inside or any outside portion of such establishment, shall be in violation of this section whenever such noise is significantly audible, to be determined at the sole discretion of the enforcing authority, at the property line of the source from where it emanates. All music must end by 10 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and by 11 p.m. Friday and Saturday.”
The ordinance calls for penalties of $250 to $500 for the first offense, a fine of at least $750 to $1,500 for a second offense and a fine of $1,500 to $2,500 for a third offense. It states that no penalty will be imposed for a first offense if the business certifies that it has corrected the condition and provides satisfactory and verifiable evidence of the correction.
Country Club Drive resident Kathleen Spaeth, who has been the most vocal supporter of enacting controls on the noise, was not completely satisfied with the outcome. She said the term “significantly audible” used in the ordinance leaves the violation in the hands of the responding officer, who she said may define it differently than she does.
Spaeth asked what could be done if she and an officer disagree about the level of noise.
Paolone said determining whether the noise rises to the level of a violation is at the sole discretion of the Linwood Police Department, noting he has “complete confidence” in the officers.
Councilman Todd Michael, who was a member of the committee that studied the issue and develop the guidelines, said they worked hard to create the rules and hopefully “came up with something that will benefit all parties involved.”
Councilman Matthew Levinson said residents must “trust the police to make the right decision.”
Councilman Eric Ford said the ordinance can be altered if it does not work the way the city wants it to work.
“This is a living, breathing document,” he said. “We hope everyone can live in harmony but if it needs to be tweaked, we’ll tweak it.”
Before the vote, retired state Superior Court Judge James Isman, of Delmar Avenue — which connects to Country Club Drive on the north side of the golf course — said he has lived in the home for 33 years because there is little traffic, no noise, it’s “peaceful” and there is “tranquility.”
He complained about the fireworks display he said began at 9:50 p.m. Friday, June 18, at the country club.
“It felt like bombs were going off,” Isman said, calling the noise “violent,” “earthshaking” and “house-shaking.”
He said he can hear music from the country club and is not annoyed by it but that the fireworks were something else entirely. Isman said his dog freaked out and didn’t know what to do and that friends in Margate could hear the “pyrotechnics like Disney.”
“The final great cluster went off at 10:10,” he said, noting he was told more fireworks are planned this summer.
Isman used an anecdote about former Philadelphia Eagles running back Ricky Watters, who was criticized for not stretching out to catch a pass from quarterback Randall Cunningham on Sept. 3, 1995, against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers that likely would have resulted in a hard hit. Asked by reporters about it after the game, he famously replied, “For who, for what?”
Botching it a bit, Isman said, “for what, for who are we doing this?”
He cited an article from thehill.com stating that “violent pyrotechnic displays” harm dogs and can lead to PTSD, suicide and homicide in military veterans. He also said fireworks have an adverse effect on those on the autism spectrum and wildlife.
“For what, for who? For profit, for money?” Isman said. “As council people you need to put the greater good ahead of wallets and pockets”
Neighbor Charlie Previti, another retired state Superior Court judge, also complained about the fireworks.
“I didn’t move to Linwood to have a neighbor keeping me awake,” Previti said. “It’s just not right that we had to be subject to that.”
Paolone said the city would not approve fireworks often.