Nanny State: Silence is Golden in Worcester, MA
QUIET MUSIC CITY: Shrewsbury Street is a major nightlife hub in Worcester, Mass. |
But, like Marty McFly’s band in Back to the Future, for some folks it’s just too darn loud.
The Worcester License Commission is proposing strict noise limitations on bars, restaurants and music venues that would drastically reduce the amount of entertainment available to Worcester residents and visitors. MassLive reports that the new rules would impose regulations on how far away from an indoor source music can be heard:
“Now I have to choose what events I’m going to to participate in?” said Paul Barber, owner of the Flying Rhino.
Maybe not, though.
The new noise restrictions may run afoul of the First Amendment.
While such rules exist in a lot of places, the American Civil Liberties Union has filed lawsuits against 10 cities that have implemented noise ordinances like Worcester’s proposals.
And as the Worcester Telegram reported, in all 10 cases, courts overturned the ordinances.
Making people follow the rules is another challenge. Even the old rules on the books in Worcester have been difficult to enforce. “We don’t want to be staring down the barrel of another $1 million worth of legal fees,” City Manager Edward Augustus told the Telegram.
Paul Giorgio, president of an event-planning company in Worcester, is one of the small businessmen pushing back on the rules. “The ordinance in its present form gives the message that once again Worcester wants to be a sleepy town,” he said to MassLive.
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Kevin Glass is Director of Policy and Outreach at the Franklin Center.
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