St. Joseph County council weighs noise ordinance changes, farmers raise concerns

ST. JOSPEH COUNTY, Ind. -- St. Joseph County Council members are continuing work on a bill that could amend the county’s existing noise ordinance, a move that could potentially help protect quality of life for residents living near industrial developments such as data centers. One council member, however, is raising concerns about how the changes could affect farmers.

The proposal establishes new limits on sound pollution and creates clearer rules for how noise levels would be monitored and enforced. While the bill is largely aimed at industrial uses, it also aims to strengthen the existing noise ordinance and make it clearer. The bill would establish new standards for all zones of land, including agricultural.

Council President Bryan Tanner said the current ordinance is difficult to interpret and lacks enforceable standards.

“Our current ordinance does not refer to the C-weighted values, but it has a more complex octave scale that nobody has been able to interpret, understand, or know how that impacts them daily.” Said Tanner.

The existing ordinance measures only A-weighted frequencies, which reflect typical daily exposure to noise and does not account for low frequency noise pollution. It also does not clearly outline how sounds are monitored or who is responsible for enforcement.

“There’s a discrepancy over who’s actually going to respond, after construction is over or in the years ahead,” Tanner said. “And who’s qualified to provide a noise reading and measurement that actually can hold up in court?”

Councilman Randy Figg said he is concerned the ordinance could be interpreted as policing normal farm operations.

“We can’t stop our farmers from planting and harvesting.” Figg said.

He also noted that he has not seen complaints to the council about noise from agricultural activities.

Tanner said the bill is still a work in progress and that he plans to continue researching effective ways to enforce the proposed rules.

The bill was ultimately held in committee. Tanner said the current version would grandfather in industrial facilities that already exist, though it remains unclear how that provision would apply to less predictable noise sources, such as farming equipment.