The Clemson City Council took the first step to enact a new definition for the City of Clemson’s noise ordinance on Monday.

The addition, which passed on Monday, adds to the existing definition that noise more than 90 decibels and 100 feet from the source for one minute continuously, or five minutes intermittently, is considered excessive noise.

“If you look at our current definition, it’s subjective,” Clemson Police Chief Jorge Campos said when asked why this was necessary.

The goal is to have a more objective standard than the current ordinance, which prohibits “Any noise which is plainly audible at or beyond the property boundary on which the noise is being produced and which is of such a volume, nature, intensity, duration, location, timing, and/or repetition that a reasonable person of ordinary sensibility would find that it interferes with the comfortable enjoyment of life and/or property by another person,” the city code states.

Before the ordinance was proposed, officers went around downtown Clemson and measured distances and noise levels.

“The only events that exceeded 90 decibels were events such as Music on the Ave, where you were in front of the band,” Campos said.

For reference, ambient noise in downtown Clemson is about 70 decibels on a busy night, according to Campos.

The change still allows enforcement of the old rules, but this definition provides more objective guidelines than the existing reasonable person standard.