Edgetown Bowl to have 3 parties

Edgetown Bowl got the green light at tonight's City Council meeting to have three parties on its property this summer. Weather permitting, the parties will be held outside, and Edgetown asked the City to waive its noise/amplified sound ordinance during certain hours of the three days.

The ordinance prohibits "any noise or sound to be amplified outside the bounds of a structure on the premises if a residence is located within 500 feet of the premises." There are residences south of Edgetown Bowl within the 500 feet radius.

The parties will be on the evenings of August 14, August 28 and September 25. Edgetown Bowl had requested a waiver so that a band could play until midnight, but City staff recommended until only 10:00PM. A deal was struck on the event's ending time as 11:00PM. It sounded (no pun intended) to me tonight like the condition on the Agenda for the band to stop at 10:00PM didn't change.

Councilman RB Thompson asked the question on my mind, which was, "Can the band continue to play after 10:00PM, if it turns off the amplifiers?" Mayor Sager said "No", and there was no further discussion about it.

My opinion is that the band can play unamplified after 10:00PM, because it won't be violating the ordinance, which specifically refers to amplified sound.

Actually, I wondered whether the ordinance applied at all. The band will be playing outside. Could the ordinance be construed to restrict only sound being generated inside the structure but being amplified to the outside, either through speakers or through open doors or windows? Picky, picky, picky.... I know. But that's what laws and ordinances are far - to cover specific issues (and only those issues). Will it get tested in August and September?