You are correct in that noise and light pollution...
Agree completely. Noise ordinances need to be tought and easy to enforce. The sentiment has to be on the side of residents, not tourists. That starts at the top which means the voters have to put pressure on the elected, including sheriff.
Light pollution is often overlooked. Not only does it degrade adjacent properties but as development builds we lose our night sky. A tragedy too many people don't care about.
It comes down to people wanting to protect quality of life and speaking out about it at meetings and writing letters.
... is about quality of life. In fact the two current Noise Ordinances 2003-09 and 2014-16 state as their purpose " The purpose of this Ordinance is to prevent, prohibit, and provide for the abatement of excessive noise, within all unincorporated areas of Walton County, in order to protect the health, safety, welfare and quality of life of the people of this county".
The noise Ordinance 2003-09 was believed to be inadequate regarding the enforcemenbt of loud noise disturbances. The BCC on July 8, 2014 passed unanimously the additional Noise Ordinance 2014-16 with full support and concurrence of the County Attorney and theWalton County Sheriffs Office along with Code Enforcement.
The 2003-09 Noise Ordinance remains in effect and waddresses loud noises such as daytime construction noises, pool pump noises, etc. where the decibel meters of Code Enforcement works better in those situations.
The 2014-16 Noise ordinance per the County Attorney representative at the BCC meeting where the Ordinance was approved was designed to combat very loud noise disturbances that impact people in their homes. These loud disturbances would generally be those resulting from parties, amplified music, etc. but could result from other noise issues. Both the WCSO andCode Enforcement arenow able to issue citations under this Ordinance. However, only the WCSO would be able to make an arrest under this Ordinance.
Both ordinances are enforceable 24 hours per day though as a practical matter, the WCSO would be the entity most likely responding to most nighttime noises as these most likley would be after Code Enforement hours. New to Ordinance 2014-16 is that a criminal offense under this ordinance can occur between the hours of 10:00p.m. and 6:00a.m. per the County Attorney representative.
These ordinances are a step forward to address those abusing parties that continue to disrespect other's quality of life.
The people of Walton County should take advantage of these Ordinances when loud noise disturbances are negatively impacting their quality of life.