Myrtle Beach, SC - Myrtle Beach reviews noise limits...

OFF THE WIRE
Dawn Bryant
 dbryant@thesunnews.com.
 thesunnews.com

Drivers might have the chance for their vehicles to get a slight bit louder in Myrtle Beach.
The Myrtle Beach City Council, which lowered the city's vehicle noise maximum to 89 decibels as part of a set of rules adopted in 2008 to tone down the bike rallies, will consider bumping that up to 92 decibels to match national standards, city officials said. The council will talk about the issue at its meeting Tuesday.
The proposed ordinance would require that motor vehicles - except for emergency response vehicles - not exceed 92 decibels when measured 20 inches from the exhaust pipe at a 45 degree angle while the engine is idling.

The city, which is amid a lawsuit over its noise ordinance, said the change is being considered so the city is in line with standards adopted by the Society of Automotive Engineers and endorsed by the American Motorcycle Association.
"What we are doing is conforming" to those standards, Myrtle Beach Assistant City Manager John Pedersen said. "It's not going to be a real noticeable shift."
The SAE standards have been around since summer 2009. In fall 2009, the AMA issued model legislation urging cities to approve the standards.
Myrtle Beach is involved in a lawsuit over its noise ordinance that was filed in June, saying the city's law interferes with the uniformity of state law, is pre-empted by state law and is unconstitutional. The suit was filed by Virginia-based attorney Tom McGrath onbehalf of a local motel owner, other residents and Horry County and S.C. ABATE groups, which work to protect motorcyclists' rights.
McGrath also filed a suit that led to the S.C. Supreme Court finding last year that the city's helmet requirement - also part of the set of new rules approved to tone down the rallies - wasn't legal because the state had already ruled that helmets weren't required. McGrath couldn't be reached Friday.
The American Motorcycle Association, which urges communities to adopt the SAE standards, can't yet endorse Myrtle Beach's plan to raise the decibel level because of the pending lawsuit over the noise ordinance, said Peter Horst, the association's spokesman.
"It would be premature for us to say we support what the city is doing," terHorst said. "We need to see this issue work its way through the courts. It's hard to know what the court will do."
Sunny Rebbaca Rowan, coordinator of the Horry County ABATE chapter, said Friday she couldn't comment on the potential change to the city's noise ordinance until she knew more about the city's plan and consulted with ABATE members.
In 2008, the city lowered the noise limit from 99 decibels to 89 decibels, city spokesman Mark Kruea said.
Contact DAWN BRYANT at 626-0296 and follow her at Twitter.com/TSN_dawnbryant.
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