St. Joan of Arc Church Noise
At a glance
- What: neighbors have complained of chronic noise and loud music from the function facility and parking lot at St. Joan of Arc Church.
- Where it stands: the neighborhood-meeting order and a companion order on how residents report noise were adopted; Khrystian E. King's timeline report was adopted under suspension. A related noise-ordinance review order went to the Public Safety Committee.
- Next: a cease-and-desist on use of the hall was the City Manager's stated next step (July 21).
Orders
- Tony Economou, Kathleen M. Toomey, Gary Rosen and Robert A. Bilotta asked the City Manager to convene a neighborhood meeting (church leadership, event organizers, Police Chief, Inspectional Services, License Commission) before any further events.
- King moved a report on the timeline of noise incidents, mitigation efforts, complaints received, the church's event permits and the rules of engagement.
- The related order to review the noise ordinance (including a possible special noise variance for churches, festivals and organizations) was referred to the Public Safety Committee.
City Manager's update (July 21)
- Inspectional Services had posted a closure notice at the church hall.
- The notice came down July 10 after the church said it would control the noise.
- The noise returned, and police requests to turn the volume down were followed by renewed noise an hour later.
Other comments
- A resident who phoned in (Sean Manson in the minutes) said the church had acknowledged the hall cannot be soundproofed and that the city should keep it closed until it is.
- Per the captions, Satya B. Mitra said his earlier request for a noise ordinance report had not been answered.
Discussion time
About 27 minutes across 1 meeting (from transcript timestamps; approximate).
| Meeting | Minutes |
|---|---|
| 2026-07-21 - City Council | 27 |
Log
- 2026-09-08 - Public Safety Committee - Related citywide noise ordinance and event licensing review discussed; see Noise Ordinance and Event Licensing. Neither the committee nor the minutes name the church, but two residents' comments (captions garble the church name; they cite Wayside Road, Lincoln Street and a nearby parkway) appear to concern it: Bruce Hoffner said neighbors have been misled for five years and nearly everyone on the surrounding street has moved out; Joseph Carcia said he lives hundreds of feet away, hears it indoors, was never sent a License Commission notice, and that occupancy certificates are removed and then restored. Nicholas J. Antanavica said a problem site had resumed events after about three quiet months and further enforcement, up to loss of occupancy, was under review. Treat the link to this church as unconfirmed.
- 2026-07-21 - City Council — Items 12a, 13b, 13c and 29b: neighborhood-meeting order (with Satya B. Mitra added as sponsor) and noise-reporting process report adopted; King's timeline report adopted; noise ordinance review referred to Public Safety. Extended debate: Tony Economou said the church had given neighbors lip service; the City Manager could not give details of fines or real-time shutdowns and promised a timeline report; Khrystian E. King said he wanted a data-based timeline and cautioned against government overreach on parks and other noise sources. A phone-in resident urged the city to keep the hall closed.