(UPDATED) City Director Apologizes For Evening Construction Noise

Local Realtor Sarah Stelmok wasn't happy this week when her evening peace in her family room was continually interrupted by the din of construction vehicles two blocks away at the Dorothy Hart Community Center on Canal Street.

On Aug. 11, she decided to vent some of her frustration on her blog "Sarahiously Speaking."

"Having just renovated my house and also lived with my neighbors putting an addition on their home, I could swear that there are noise ordinances dealing with construction and demolition.  So, I decided to look them up.  In fact, there are noise ordinances for construction and demolition," she wrote on her blog.

The city has a noise ordinance that prohibits construction or repair of buildings, excavating streets and unloading construction materials when the sound is audible across a property line between the hours of 7 p.m. and 7 a.m. on weekdays and 9 p.m. and 9 a.m. on weekends and holidays.

Stelmok said it was almost 9 p.m. on Thursday when she heard the construction noises. The city's noise ordinance also has a section that states the city manager can issue a permit that bypasses the time restrictions, and this is what Stelmok assumed happened in this case.

But the city manager didn't permit the evening work.

Fredericksburg's Director of Public Works Doug Fawcett sent an email to Stelmok and Patch on Friday that clarified the situation. Fawcett said the contractor should not have been working after 7 p.m. that night. He apologized to Stelmok for the disturbance.

"A member of the Public Works Department erroneously told the contractor that work was permitted until 9pm," Fawcett wrote in the email. "No waiver of the noise ordinance restrictions was issued by the City Manager. The contractor has been directed to cease work at the site by 7pm this evening (August 12) and that work may begin no earlier than 9am tomorrow."

The project is finished now. Fawcett also wrote that the community center parking lot is not reserved for only city vehicles. He said the lot is open to anyone attending classes, events or meetings at the community center.

Stelmok could not be immediately reached by phone or email.

Update, Aug. 15, 12:13 p.m.

Sarah Stelmok responded to Fawcett's email on her blog:

"I also find it amlost unforgiveable for a Public Works employee to not be aware of the city noise ordinance. If I had made the same mistake while my home was under construction I’m sure I would have heard from the city and been subject to penalties. If I’m not mistaken, this is the same noise ordinance that the city uses to promote another ordinance pertaining to more than 3 unrelated people living in a dwelling. (I’ve blogged about this in the past, as well). I do appreciate the apology and the action you took to make sure that the neighborhood would not be subjected to the same activity the following night, but it shouldn’t have happened in the first place. I’m sure you would feel the same if you were living in my house."