To my dismay I have discovered that Sussex County has no noise ordinance.
I was made aware of this last week by State Police Troop 7 when I called them to respond to the excessively loud music coming from the Crooked Hammock in Lewes. A summer evening at the bar is basically an outdoor keg party, complete with a (loud) band, set in the middle of a mostly residential area. I live approximately a half mile away and many nights can hear it clearly through closed double-pane windows. That night, the walls of the bedroom vibrated from the bass.
The officer sympathized with our plight; he said the police have had many calls about this situation (and about Hudson Fields) but cannot compel the establishment to turn it down.
He said our only protection is a 'good neighbor' policy based on the hope that the offending party will do the right thing. The Crooked Hammock is not a good neighbor; they do not respond to complaints, and will not do the right thing. They have become a public nuisance.
How can Sussex County zone for activities such as outdoor music venues, over which they have no control?
State regulations concerning noise (which apparently don't apply to Sussex County) were established to "prevent, prohibit and provide for the abatement of excess and unnecessary noise and/or vibration which may endanger the health, safety and welfare, jeopardize the value of property, and erode the integrity of the environment of the people of this state."
The lack of any county protection for the well-being of full-time (voting) residents and for the integrity of the environment is appalling, but not surprising.
The disregard for property values, however, should concern not just individual homeowners, but realtors, developers, and anyone interested in the economic future of the county.
Sussex County is growing fast and our ordinances need to grow with it.
Vincent Griscavage
Lewes
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