Oughta Be A Law? Neighbors’ Dispute Leads To Air Conditioner Noise Rule
Ear plugs weren’t enough for one woman
The city of East Lansing enacted an ordinance earlier this year making it illegal to operate an air conditioning unit louder than 55 decibels at night and 60 decibels during the day as measured from the property line.
The ordinance’s caps could effectively ban a number of air conditioning units. Carrier, a leading manufacturer of air conditioners, lists 17 units on its website for residential use. Only one of those could operate at fewer than 60 decibels. Ten can only operate above 70 decibels.
As sound moves out from its source, it dissipates, so an air conditioner producing 64 decibels may not sound that loud at the property line. Also, decibel sound measurements are logarithmic, meaning 70 decibels is perceived by the human ear as being 10 times louder than 60 decibels.
East Lansing isn’t the only municipality in the state restricting the noise-level of air conditioners. At least 10 others, including Ann Arbor, Farmington Hills and Grand Rapids, have similar ordinances according to an East Lansing city report.
Two next-door neighbors in the city had a disagreement about how loud an air conditioning unit was. After months of dispute and threats of a restraining order, one neighbor asked a member of the city council to pursue an ordinance that would effectively ban the use of the other’s air conditioner.
The homes of residents Marilyn McEwen and Karen Twyman are 10 feet apart and McEwen’s air conditioner, which runs at above 60 decibels, is located between the two houses. According to city emails obtained by Michigan Capitol Confidential, McEwen is elderly and needs the air conditioner to sleep. Twyman claims the noise created by the air conditioner keeps her from being able to sleep.
Twyman contacted Mayor Mark Meadows and City Council member Erik Altmann in July 2016 after unsuccessfully working out the issue with her neighbor. Twyman suggested the city add restrictions on air conditioners to its noise ordinance. This came, she claimed, after she contacted the police with a noise complaint, and they did not ticket McEwen for not turning off her air conditioner.
Twyman also claimed ear plugs didn’t block out the air conditioner’s noise enough for her to sleep.
“Please let me know what you think,” Twyman said in an email to Altmann. “Is this an issue that might gain some traction here in East Lansing? If it might, I would like to pursue it.”
Meadows suggested discussing air conditioners and the noise ordinance to the Sept. 20 city council meeting and Altmann pushed for the change in the council. In March 2017, the council revised the city’s noise ordinance to include restrictions on air conditioners.
Altmann described his support for the ordinance in a July 28 email to a city resident.
“In my mind, the ordinance serves a public interest if it guides decisions about locating new units, and if it gives someone who’s feeling besieged by unwelcome noise some institutional backing,” Altmann said. “I have been in this situation, and that does inform my thinking.”
Altmann didn’t see the restricted noise levels as an issue, and suggested placing louder air conditioning units behind privacy fences so they would be in compliance with the new ordinance.
Michigan Capitol Confidential is the news source produced by the Mackinac Center for Public Policy. Michigan Capitol Confidential reports with a free-market news perspective.
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Let Local Schools Decide Their Calendars
More districts seeking freedom from Labor Day mandate
An increasing number of school districts want to open their doors to students in August. This growing demand provides further justification for ending the requirement that districts ask state bureaucrats for permission to start the academic year before Labor Day.
The Detroit News reported that the number of local school districts, intermediate school districts and charter schools seeking calendar waivers from the Michigan Department of Education nearly doubled – from 67 in 2016 to 123 this year. The number of districts affected could be much higher since the 24 waivers obtained by intermediate school districts are available to all the districts within their boundaries.
The state law setting Labor Day as the default school start date was only adopted in 2006. Recently, there’s momentum to roll back the mandate.
There is some evidence that making summer breaks shorter prevents disadvantaged students from falling further behind their peers. But overall, as with many education policy proposals, the research is inconclusive. A year-round calendar may help some students learn more, but it hasn’t shown signs of causing harm.
Unless you count the state’s tourism industry, which says the 11-year-old law has boosted hotel occupancy and revenues. Michigan Lodging and Tourism Association president and CEO Deanna Richeson was quoted in The Detroit News saying parents want to make vacation getaways during July and August. If so, they can persuade their local board of education to start school after Labor Day. Or they could seek to enroll in a neighboring district with a different calendar, or simply adjust their vacation plans.
There is no perfect solution to satisfy everyone, but educational concerns should take precedence over one industry’s concerns. And those decisions are best made closest to the families being served.
Most financial support for Michigan public schools comes from tax dollars collected and doled out at the state level, so state officials have some valid interest in setting education policies. But there is no compelling case that starting school after Labor Day generally benefits students, and some reason to believe otherwise.
Sen. Marty Knollenberg, R-Troy, has introduced Senate Bill 271 to ease Lansing’s pressure on school districts seeking more calendar flexibility. His bill would allow all schools to operate on Tuesdays through Thursdays in August, which would preserve long weekends for family outings up north while, at least in some cases, alleviating concerns about summer learning loss. SB 271 passed out of committee more than four months ago, and it has been awaiting action on the Senate floor ever since.
It’s telling that making such a modest proposed change to rigid education industry norms has proved to be a slow and challenging task. What, then, will it take to create an education system nimble enough to offer students statewide true personalized learning?
Let locally accountable boards decide on the schedules that work for their parents and educators. Together, maybe their diverse calendar decisions will lengthen the season for Michigan residents to enjoy our state’s natural beauty.
Michigan Capitol Confidential is the news source produced by the Mackinac Center for Public Policy. Michigan Capitol Confidential reports with a free-market news perspective.
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