HOWELL – A Castle Court resident who has been dealing with the effect of noise that emanates from a nearby movie theater expects to have his day in Howell municipal court on March 8.
Resident Marc Parisi has been living with the situation since May 2016. He has previously informed Howell officials that noise coming from movies that are being shown at the Xscape Theatres Howell 14, Route 9 near Lanes Mill Road, is audible at his home.
The issue has been the subject of Zoning Board of Adjustment hearings and the adoption of a municipal ordinance.
During a Township Council meeting on Feb. 19, Parisi once again brought the matter to the attention of the governing body.
“I come here tonight … due to a noise issue at my house (coming from) the Xscape theaters. Just after Christmas, I had a noise expert come to my property and take sound measurements in my house. The levels were approximately six times the legal limit,” Parisi said.
He said he has been asking municipal officials to enforce a noise ordinance the council adopted in October 2017, “but evidently the township did not have a noise control officer trained and certified.”
Mayor Theresa Berger asked Parisi if he ever shared his information with the township.
Parisi said he sent his noise expert’s report to the zoning officer in January and received a response which indicated the township manager and the director of community development had been copied on the email.
“I was told … (Howell was) in the process of finalizing a shared services agreement with the Monmouth County Health Department to enforce the township’s noise ordinance. I was told that would be done by the end of February,” Parisi said.
Township Attorney Joseph Clark said Howell has forwarded a shared services agreement to the county.
“We have heard back from the county and we are going to have a meeting with the Board of Health, probably in the near future. They have some issues with the ordinance we adopted, so I need to find out what the issues are. We may need to amend the ordinance at some point,” Clark said.
“So in the meantime there is an adopted ordinance on the books and there is no ability for the township to enforce it. What recourse does that leave me?” Parisi said.
Clark said at present, Howell does not have a noise control officer or a shared services agreement with the county.
“I know you (Parisi) filed a complaint in municipal court, so there is certainly that,” the attorney said. “The alternative, if you want, is we have the information, we will forward it to the Board of Health and we will see if the county can do anything under their authority.”
Berger asked Parisi if other residents of Castle Court have experienced the same noise issues with the movie theater.
“That is a common question people ask,” Parisi told the mayor. “Why is it that I am the only one who is complaining about this? My house is directly behind the two IMAX theaters. The other homes are all on 1-acre lots, a little bit south, a little bit farther east, and they are not as greatly impacted by the noise. (Those residents) can hear the noise while they are in their front yard, but we actually hear it in our bedroom every night.”
Parisi said when “Aquaman” was playing at the Xscape theaters late in 2018, the measured noise levels were six times the permissible limit.
“It sounds like thunder. If you did not look outside to see if it was cloudy or not, your first inclination is that there is a thunderstorm approaching, but that is what we have lived with since the theater opened in May 2016,” Parisi said.
He said he appreciated the response from Clark and the council members, but admitted he is annoyed.
“As far as I am concerned, you guys can understand how I am a little bit annoyed that at this point the ordinance is on the books, but it is not enforceable. There is a difference between filing a citizen’s complaint in municipal court and filing a complaint with the code enforcement office, which has the jurisdiction to go out and actually issue a violation notice,” Parisi said.
