The Hopkinton Town Council continued the public hearing on a proposed amendment to Chapter 10, Article 3 (Noise) on April 21 and set a continuation date of May 5, 2025.

The ordinance under discussion would change quiet hours, add construction- and landscaping-related exceptions and add enforcement provisions. The draft before the council would change quiet hours to 10 p.m. to 7 a.m. and allow construction and repair between 7 a.m. and 8 p.m. on weekdays and between 8 a.m. and 6 p.m. on weekends, with added penalties and enforcement language for violations.

Town staff and the planner told the council they had used neighboring municipalities as templates and that an earlier draft included a benchmark of 65 decibels. As the planner summarized during the meeting: “All prohibited noises listed here shall not exceed a level of 65 decibels measured from a distance of 200 feet from the source.” The planner said the department had identified calibrated decibel meters and would draft a calibration and training policy for the police department.

Council members and residents pressed for more detail. Councilors said they wanted clear numeric limits, spelled-out measurement procedures, and a defined enforcement chain so citations would not be vulnerable to defense claims about faulty equipment or untrained officers. Residents from Hopkinton Hill and nearby neighborhoods described repeated construction noise late at night and uneven enforcement and urged the council to adopt enforceable limits.

Several speakers asked the council to broaden the ordinance to explicitly regulate landscaping noise (leaf blowers) and early-morning commercial loading and unloading. One councilor noted that Route 3 businesses regularly receive tractor-trailer deliveries before 7 a.m. and said the ordinance must account for such commercial activity.

After discussion, Councilor [motion maker recorded in the minutes] moved to table and continue the hearing to May 5, 2025. The motion was seconded and approved on a recorded voice roll call: James (yes); Davis (yes); Roy (yes); Burns (yes). The council left the hearing open so staff can circulate a revised draft and solicit further public input before the continuation.

The council asked residents and councilors to send written edits to the planner so staff can prepare a consolidated draft. The planner said staff will circulate a new draft that restores numeric limits and clarifies measurement and enforcement language ahead of the May 5 continuation.

If advanced, the ordinance would amend the town code’s noise section to add numerical sound limits by zone, summer-hour exceptions and explicit measurement, calibration and evidence-handling procedures for enforcement.