The reinstatement of Working Group 41 (ANSI S12.66) guidelines for developing a community noise ordinance or regulation: First steps

Working Group 41 of the ASA standards committee oversaw the development of ANSI-ASA S12.66 Guidelines for Developing a Community Noise Ordinance or Regulation, and has become active again after becoming dormant in 2013. The original goal of the working group was to create a model ordinance that could be tailored to a particular community by the local authorities, however over the 13+ years of the development effort it was evident that a “model” ordinance takes on the characteristics of a holy grail. A more holistic approach was adopted to examine community needs and resources, and considerations for judicial, executive, and technical limitations. Furthermore, the evolution of soundscape methods provide new tools for improving a community's involvement in the assessment of its needs. This paper will provide an overview of the working group's activity since Spring 2020.