Council warns public hearing on nuisance‑ordinance updates, including bedrock‑removal hours

The South Burlington City Council on July 21 voted to warn a public hearing for Sept. 2 on proposed amendments to the city nuisance ordinance. The draft moves some performance‑standard provisions from the LDRs into the nuisance code and adds explicit prohibitions and time windows for bedrock removal and related construction noise.
City Attorney Colin McNeal and Planning Director Paul Connor explained the revisions. The ordinance changes include housekeeping updates and three substantive inserts that mirror provisions in the LDR redlines: a requirement that applicants identify potential bedrock removal early in review, the ability for the Development Review Board to require geotechnical evaluation when ledge is likely, and specified hours when hydraulic jackhammering or similar bedrock‑removal work is prohibited (the draft lists prohibited hours overnight: 5:00 p.m. to 8:00 a.m.). McNeal said the intention was to synchronize the LDRs and the nuisance ordinance but cautioned that duplicating rules in two places could cause confusion over which remedies apply (land‑use remedies under the LDR vs. fines/junctions under the nuisance code).
Councilors asked whether the ordinance would impose objective noise limits (decibel levels) or leave balancing to the DRB and staff. Planning staff said the current LDR draft gives the DRB discretion and that the Planning Commission intends to study objective decibel thresholds and other measurable standards and may return with further language; staff recommended adopting the present draft as a first step and then adding decibel measurements later.
Several councilors asked staff to harmonize the relationship between the LDRs and nuisance ordinance so residents and applicants know whether a permitted activity under the LDRs remains subject to nuisance enforcement; staff agreed to clarify cross‑references and return with coordinated language. The council voted to warn the Sept. 2 public hearing on the nuisance‑ordinance changes.