Mason City Council adopts citizen-initiated noise ordinance with plans to amend

Reporting like this only happens with your financial support. Donate to WKAR today!

The city of Mason has new noise limits – but more changes could be on the way.

City Council members voted unanimously Monday night to approve an ordinance establishing stricter noise and vibration limits that was brought forward through a petition initiative.

By passing the ordinance themselves, City Council members keep it off the November ballot.

Mayor Russell Whipple says that gives them more flexibility to amend the ordinance before it goes into effect next month based on a review by a noise specialist.

If it were approved by voters, City Council members would have to wait at least a year before making changes.

SUSTAIN what matters. BUILD what’s next.

With federal funding eliminated, WKAR relies more than ever on community support to sustain trusted local journalism that remains freely available to everyone in mid-Michigan. Your support helps shape what comes next for public media in our region. The best way to support WKAR is by becoming a sustaining member today or by upgrading your current gift.

Whipple says while he agrees with several parts of the ordinance, other parts may be considered exclusionary zoning or arbitrary enforcement.

Advocates have promised to challenge any amendments to the ordinance, pointing to a Michigan Supreme Court ruling on a similar strategy used by the Michigan Legislature in 2018.

But Whipple said the ruling doesn’t apply to the city because the city charter is its governing document under home rule.

“This is not the city doing something sneaky. This is just the way the charter is written,” Whipple said. “It’s done so in a way to protect the city from doing something that locks them into something that they can’t undo that could be bad. The fact of the matter is citizen-initiated laws are not always very good laws.”