AUGUSTA — City councilors, in response to concerns expressed by the city’s largest car dealers, sent noise ordinance changes, including a proposed ban on outdoor speakers at any businesses other than drive-through restaurants, back to the drawing board.

Or, more specifically, back to the Planning Board, which recommended the changes after neighbors of car dealerships complained the speakers meant to reach salesmen in the far corners of large sales lots were also reaching far beyond those lots into their homes.

In addition to car dealer who said outdoor speakers are essential to selling cars, other owners of commercial buildings also expressed concern about the ban, including a local orthodontist who annually plays holiday music on outdoor speakers as part of his Christmas season display at his State Street offices.

“During the Christmas season, I decorate my building, it’s an 1830s Federal, and I play music in time with the lights,” said Dr. Darryl Zeleniak. “Neighbors from Green Street come down and enjoy it. I’ve never gotten a complaint about it, and I’ve gotten quite a few positive comments. We get three, four-year-old kids enjoying the music, dancing in front of the building, on the sidewalk. This ordinance, banning outdoor speakers on commercial buildings, is sweeping. It may be somewhat misdirected.”

Councilors voted to table the proposal and send it back to the Planning Board for more review.

Planners are tentatively scheduled to take up the issue at their Oct. 25 meeting, according to Mayor William Stokes.

Patsy Crockett, a former state representative and resident of Smith Street, near Charlie’s Motor Mall, urged councilors, rather than sending the issue back to the Planning Board, to revise the proposal to remove the outdoor speaker ban and allow them, but only if noise from the speakers does not leave the property of the businesses where they are located.

She said dealer Charlie Shuman, once he heard neighbors had complained about noise from dealerships, immediately took steps to alter his businesses’ speakers so sound from them can no longer be heard beyond his dealerships’ property lines.

“You could simply amend this, rather than banning outdoor speakers, which are something car dealers appear to really want to keep, and looking at what Charlie did, a ban may not be necessary,” Crockett said. “Ban them from having noise leaving their property. Which is what neighbors wanted. It seems like it’d be a simple solution.”

However Councilor David Rollins said the Planning Board would provide a forum for both sides of the issue to make their concerns heard.

Councilor Edward Coffin suggested adding decibel-based noise standards to the ordinance, likely measured at the property lines of businesses. He said the ordinance should allow conversational-level sounds at businesses property lines, which he estimated at 40 decibels.

He said the ordinance should also include consequences for businesses that don’t prevent excessive sound from their outdoor speakers from leaving their property.

“Whatever they set it at, we’d like to have some teeth in the thing,” Coffin said of a decibel-based system. “Like maybe three strikes and you’re out, then you have to take out your speakers.”

Councilors voted 7-0 to table the noise ordinance changes and send them back to the Planning Board.

Keith Edwards — 621-5647

kedwards@centralmaine.com