The Seattle City Council passed legislation last month to update Seattle's noise ordinance to ease conflicts between noisy bars and nearby residences.

The new noise thresholds are still to be determined by the city's Department of Planning and Development, but the updated code will include a set of financial penalties for club and bar owners found to be in violation.

Council member Sally Clark, who chairs the committee in charge of reviewing nightlife laws, said the current noise code is inadequate because it's based on subjective measurement standards.

"The way the code is currently drafted ... we really don't have a modern way to react to (amplified) noise coming out of clubs and bars, essentially after 10 p.m.," said Clark. "Our code needs to modernize with the changes in land use in the city."

The current code also doesn't objectively measure noise coming into interior units, she said, adding that developers building new residential units have a "responsibility" to mitigate how sound enters the structures.

Tension over amplified music coming from nightclubs has escalated in many of Seattle's neighborhoods that have become denser with more and more condominiums being built in commercial areas. Mayor Greg Nickels and the council have been at odds over how much regulation should be imposed on bar owners and how to deal with problem clubs.

Nickels first proposed strict regulations late 2006, which stipulated bar owners must get a license and monitor violence as well as patrol the nightlife premises. After much debate between organizations, such as the Seattle Nightlife and Music Association that formed in opposition of the proposal, the council approved a scaled-down version that focused mostly on controlling occupancy levels. The mayor vetoed it because a license component wasn't included.

Under the new noise legislation, clubs will receive a warning followed by a $1,000 citation for the first violation. There will be a $2,000 citation for each subsequent infringement within one year of the first violation.

Funds for the first infraction could be used for sound mitigation measures like rearranging acoustical tools or replacing windows and adding insulation. At any point, the city will provide technical assistance on lessening noise.

"The goal of the fines is to get clubs to keep the volume at a reasonable level," said Clark. "We're not trying to close anyone down. The best result of this legislation would be that no clubs violate the noise threshold and the city never has to fine anyone."

The Seattle Nightlife and Music Association and a newly created Nightlife Advisory Board comprised of citizens, club owners and noise experts will assist the city on developing the new noise threshold and rules.

The council is seeking nominations for the board this month.

Community activist Laine Ross told the council members at the Dec.17 full council meeting "noise levels have continued to escalate unchecked." The updates in the legislation would provide a "firm structure," she said.

"It's obvious that residents all over this city are still suffering," said Ross. "Chronic offenders need to respect their fellow stakeholders, the residents."

Councilman Tom Rasmussen said the new nightlife noise ordinance represents a first step in strengthening the city's overall ability to regulate all types of noise nuisances.

"Seattle's noise ordinance needs to be overhauled," said Rasmussen. "I receive complaints about anything from gasoline-powered leaf blowers, garbage trucks and Metro buses. We need to see this only as a beginning to improving our quality of life."

Rebekah Schilperoort can be reached at 783.1244 or rebekahs@robinsonnews.com