Cape enacts noise limits

CAPE ELIZABETH — Following more than a year of wrangling regarding so-called "short-term rental" properties, Cape Elizabeth appears to have finally closed the books on the topic, imposing noise limits to go with a new slate of regulations.

Issues around short-term rentals came to a head in September 2011 after complaints flooded into town hall that summer from neighbors of a home on Sea Barn Road, which was regularly rented out for weddings, creating noise, clogging the narrow street and frustrating abutting homeowners. At the same time, other homes in quiet beachfront locations were said to have turned into party homes gang-rented by college kids.

A year of ordinance committee meetings, often attended by 30 people or more, resulted in regulations that became effective Dec. 14 on single-family homes rented out for more than two weeks per year for periods of less than 30 days.

On Monday, the Town Council voted unanimously to impose noise restrictions as part of the miscellaneous offenses ordinance. Although the new rules spun out of the debate on nuisance conditions at rental homes, they apply to the entire town.

Under the ordinance update, homeowners can be fined up to $250 for allowing the generation of “substantial noise” between 10 p.m. and 7 a.m. Monday through Thursday, and between 11 p.m. and 7 a.m. on Friday and Saturday.

The ordinance does not define what constitutes “substantial noise,” other than to say that it includes “an excessive volume of music,” and that the noise shall not extend “beyond the property line.”

Noise restrictions also will be in place during “daytime hours,” when noise “shall not exceed what is reasonable and consistent with daily living.”

Council Chairman Jim Walsh said it would be up to the officer responding to a noise complaint to determine just how “substantial” any sound might be.

"The more clear the town is relative to its ordinances and the application of its ordinances, the better the citizens will understand what's expected," said Walsh.

The rules do not apply to special events approved in advance by the council, or to agricultural activities, school-sponsored events or fireworks shows approved by the fire chief.

The rental ordinance, which includes a "three-strikes" provision for habitual offenders, calls on homeowners to obtain a $50 permit before renting out their property.

Those permits require an inspection by and approval of the code enforcement officer, based on the presence of adequate fire extinguishers, smoke and carbon monoxide detectors, appropriate exits, evacuation plans and proof of waste disposal.

It then restricts the number of allowed tenants to no more than two per bedroom, with more than eight in residence at any time on lots of less than 30,000 square feet.

Councilor Caitlin Jordan, who voted for the noise provisions, was the only member of the council to vote against the zoning regulations for short-term rentals, and against the setting of a $50 permit fee.