COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PHILADELPHIA COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES Room 400, City Hall Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Tuesday, October 5, 2010 10:25 a.m. PRESENT: COUNCILWOMAN MARIAN B. TASCO, CHAIR COUNCILMAN W. WILSON GOODE, JR. COUNCILMAN CURTIS JONES, JR. COUNCILMAN JAMES KENNEY COUNCILWOMAN BLONDELL REYNOLDS BROWN BILL 100537 - An ordinance amending Chapter 10-400 of The Philadelphia Code, entitled "Noise and Excessive Vibration," by providing for certain exceptions, including, but not limited to, sounds created by school bells, church bells, and similar devices; all under certain terms and conditions. - - - 2
Good morning. Is there anyone here to testify on this bill who has not signed in? (No response.)
Thank you very much. The Council Committee on Public Health and Human Services will now come to order. I will state that we have a quorum in the presence of Councilman Kenney, Councilman Goode, myself, Councilwoman Tasco, and appointing Councilman Curtis Jones to this Committee temporarily. Other Councilmembers are on their way. We do not want to delay your time here and so we will begin the testimony relative to Bill 100537, and we ask the Clerk to please read the bill.
An ordinance 22 amending Chapter 10-400 of The Philadelphia Code, entitled "Noise and Excessive Vibration," by providing for certain exceptions, including, but not 3 10/5/10 - PUBLIC HEALTH - BILL 100537 limited to, sounds created by school bells, church bells, and similar devices; all under certain terms and conditions.
Thank you very much. I will now call on Nan Feyler, Chief of Staff, Department of Public Health. (Witness approached witness table.)
Hello. Good morning, Chairwoman Tasco and members of the Committee on Public Health and Human Services. I am Nan Feyler, Chief of Staff, Philadelphia Department of Public Health. Thank you for the opportunity to present testimony today on Bill No. 19 100537 amending Chapter 10-400 of The Philadelphia Code, entitled "Noise and Excessive Vibration," by providing for certain exceptions, including, but not limited to, sounds created by school bells, church bells, and similar devices; all under certain terms and conditions. 4 10/5/10 - PUBLIC HEALTH - BILL 100537 The intent of Chapter 10-400 of The Philadelphia Code is, quote, "to prevent noise and excessive vibration and limit, control and eliminate noise and excessive vibration in general," end quote. The Air Management Services Division of the Philadelphia Department of Public Health has primary responsibility for enforcing the sound and noise restriction codified in Title 10, Chapter 10-400 of The Philadelphia Code, although notices of violation of this Code can also be issued by the Department of Licenses and Inspections and the Philadelphia Police Department. As part of the Air Management Services Division, there are five inspectors who handle these types of complaints. They investigate noise pollution complaints and, where appropriate, issue warnings and/or violations. These investigators are also responsible for conducting field inspections to evaluate asbestos air 5 10/5/10 - PUBLIC HEALTH - BILL 100537 monitoring, removal and disposal activities, and they are responsible for inspecting other sources of air and noise pollution for compliance with prescribed permit conditions and applicable federal, state and municipal codes, regulations and standards. Annually, Air Management Services handles an average of 500 noise complaints, some examples of which include speakers, music, singing, loud speeches, sermons, security alarms, illegal early morning trash pickups and loud air conditioning equipment. The inspector must witness and measure the duration and decibel level at the noise location. The inspector may issue a warning to the noise source or a notice of violation, if required. Approximately 80 noise violations are issued per year. The Department of Public Health recognizes the intent of this amendment to exempt some sounds from religious institutions and schools, under certain 6 10/5/10 - PUBLIC HEALTH - BILL 100537 terms and conditions, and has no 3 objection to this amendment. Thank you for allowing me to present testimony on this issue. I will be happy to answer any questions you might have.
Thank you very much. Are there questions from members of the Committee? (No response.)
We will next hear from Father Lyons from Saint John's Church. (Witness approached witness table.)
Good morning. How are you? Please state your name for the record and begin your 7 10/5/10 - PUBLIC HEALTH - BILL 100537 testimony.
Father James A. Lyons. I'm the Pastor of Saint John the Baptist Church in Manayunk, Philadelphia. We were surprised to be notified that we were in violation of the noise ordinance for the ringing of the bell. We thought, for one, that it would be grandfathered underneath existing legislation since the bell had been ringing since prior to 1900, aside from a short period when we ran into some mechanical problems and that required to fix the bell. The parish, as I said, has been founded -- was founded in 1831. It's the sixth oldest parish in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia. The current church has been at its location since the 1850's, and the bell that was ringing or that is ringing now is the same one that went in in 1895. I don't know if there was anything else that you would need to know 8 10/5/10 - PUBLIC HEALTH - BILL 100537 or like to know about the parish or the bell.
The bell rings hourly beginning at 7 o'clock in the morning and it rings from 7 o'clock in the morning hourly until 9 o'clock in the evening, three times a day, at 7:00 a.m., 12:00 noon and 6:00 p.m. It rings the prayer of the Angelus. So it rings the hour, plus it will ring three times and then stop and then three times and stop and then three times and stop, and then it will ring times and stop. It used 17 to ring 24 hours a day, seven days a 18 week. In the early 1900's, I believe one of my predecessors started the ringing at 6 o'clock in the morning until 11 o'clock in the evening. When the bell went out of service and we were repairing it, I doubled-checked with our maintenance people to ensure that we were falling within the guidelines of when major 9 10/5/10 - PUBLIC HEALTH - BILL 100537 construction work would be able to begin in the area, and they were saying 7:00 a.m. in the morning. So we thought that that would put us inside of the ordinance's area, that the bell would ring at 7 o'clock clock in the morning and 12:00 noon and stop ringing at 9 o'clock in the evening.
Next we have Father Connor (sic). (Witness approached witness table.)
My name is Reverend Robert Collier. I'm the Pastor of Galilee Baptist Church in Roxborough.
We're here in support of Saint John and Father Lyons in the aspect that this bell has been in our community over -- I don't know how long -- over a hundred years or so. It is traditional for the members of Roxborough and Manayunk to hear this bell. Some folk have heard this bell since their childhood and they have become accustomed to it. We want to be exempted from 11 10/5/10 - PUBLIC HEALTH - BILL 100537 anything that will cause us not to be able to let this bell ring, because this bell symbolizes to the faith community that God is still alive. It symbolizes freedom. It symbolizes tradition. It symbolizes that we're yet doing what ought to be done. And that bell kind of encourages up and reenergizes us to continue to work for the faith community, to keep our community bonded, to keep our community hopeful, to keep our community optimistic. And we just feel that if we're not allowed to continue to enjoy that richness and that tradition, it will put a hamper in our ability to reach our faith community and give them hope. To some people, a bell may not be significant, but it's more than a bell to us. It sounds like, if you will pardon the expression, that God is alive, and for the faith community, we need that energy. We need to know that we're all on the same page. And although we're from different denominations, we serve 12 10/5/10 - PUBLIC HEALTH - BILL 100537 one God, and when this bell rings, it let's all of us know that we're in tune with what we're here to do, to save our people, to give our people a better quality of life and to serve God and our community. So we stand firmly on the fact that we pray that we'll be exempt from any ordinance that will cause us not to be able to let that bell continue to toll.
Thank you very much. Are there any questions? (No response.)
Thank you very much. I think you're preaching to the choir. Is there anyone else here to testify on this bill? (No response.)
Is there anyone else here to testify on this bill? (Witness approached witness 13 10/5/10 - PUBLIC HEALTH - BILL 100537 table.)
My name is Linda Marie Bell -- it has a nice ring to it -- and I am President of the 21st Ward 4th of July Association. Every 4th of July we have a parade of churches and Sunday schools and now for the third year a synagogue. We've been parading since 1831 to honor the Lord Jesus Christ and to salute our country. 1831 was the year that Saint John the Baptist Church started. Over this past year, every one of the churches that were represented in the 4th of July Parade and the synagogue and anyone who came to any of our activities signed the petition to save the bells at Saint John's. It is my understanding that the ordinance that is written is speaking about amplified sound. I did want to 14 10/5/10 - PUBLIC HEALTH - BILL 100537 point out that the bells at Saint John are normal, regular bells. It's not electronically produced sound. And everyone in Roxborough, Manayunk would miss the bells of Saint John's if they were not rung. Thank you very much.
Well, thank you. Is there anyone here to testify against this bill? (No response.)
Thank you, Madam Chair, and I want to thank this Committee for allowing me to honorary serve on it today. I want to thank Councilman Kenney for promptly calling on the action of this Council to deal with 15 10/5/10 - PUBLIC HEALTH - BILL 100537 the attempt to silence the bells. There are parts of my district where there is noise. There's the noise of sirens, there's the noise of gunshots and the noise of crying parents because of the loss of a loved one. I think that this is a pre-existing condition, similar to when you move near the trains and you know that the trains are going to go by regularly, and that is a part of the condition in which you buy your home. Finally, for me, I lived on the 300 block of Edgewood, and there was a church out the back of my back window when I was growing up, and every Sunday morning -- you could set your clock by it -- those church bells rung, and I woke up to the smell of pancakes, bacon and coffee made by my grandmother, and without those bells, I probably would not have gotten here today. So I hope that we do the right thing and realize that, yes, 500 decibels mean something to some people, but these 16 10/5/10 - PUBLIC HEALTH - BILL 100537 church bells mean more to that community.
Thank you very much. Let me just recognize that Councilwoman Blondell Reynolds Brown has joined us this morning, which establishes a quorum of the Committee, and with the appointment of Councilman Jones, it gives us an added person on the Committee, but for technical reasons, we do have four relative to this ordinance, four members of Council who are members of this Committee. Thank you. Councilman Kenney.
Thank you, Madam Chair. I would like to thank the members of the Committee for attending and for Councilman Jones for his co-sponsorship and for all the people who have come here to testify today. We deal with lots of issues in this Council. Many of them are very complicated and contentious, and we get 17 10/5/10 - PUBLIC HEALTH - BILL 100537 our work done, but sometimes it's a difficult chore. When issues like this come to fore, they're very simple. I want to thank the City for cooperating with their testimony and the Health Department, and I just want to say that simple things like this need to be done because it means so much to so many people. When the Reverend testified, Father Lyons and the Reverend especially, I couldn't have put it more succinctly or more purely than he did, and it shows that a simple thing like a bell can bring a whole bunch of folks together on one issue regardless of color or national origin or ethnicity, age. It's just very heartening to hear the Reverend speak about how much a community it is in the East Falls, Manayunk area. So thank you again for coming and thank you for your support of the bill.
Thank you. Is there anyone else here to 18 10/5/10 - PUBLIC HEALTH - BILL 100537 testify on this bill? (No response.)
There being none, we will now go into our public meeting, and the Chair recognizes Councilman Kenney for the purpose of voting out Bill 100537 with a suspension.
Yes, ma'am. Thank you, Madam Chair. I move that Bill 11 No. 100537 be reported out of this Committee with a favorable recommendation and a request made for rules suspension to allow for first reading at our next Council session. (Duly seconded.)
It has been moved that Bill 100537 be reported out of this Committee with a favorable recommendation and a recommendation that the rules of Council be suspended so as to have its first reading at Council's next session. All in favor will say aye. (Aye.) 19 10/5/10 - PUBLIC HEALTH - BILL 100537
There being none, this motion is carried, and there being no further business, this Committee is adjourned. Thank you very much. (Committee on Public Health and Human Services concluded at 10:40 a.m.) - - - 20 CERTIFICATE I HEREBY CERTIFY that the proceedings, evidence and objections are contained fully and accurately in the stenographic notes taken by me upon the foregoing matter on October 5, 2010, and that this is a true and correct transcript of same. -------------------- MICHELE L. MURPHY RPR-Notary Public (The foregoing certification of this transcript does not apply to any reproduction of the same by any means, unless under the direct control and/or supervision of the certifying reporter.)