Noise Plan to Be Heard Again

A Southern California Edison Co. proposal to modify Redondo Beach’s noise ordinance will be reconsidered by the City Council at a meeting Sept. 19.

The proposal, which would establish a noise limit to be measured at the property line of the company’s electric power plant, was tabled for six months at the council’s Aug. 15 meeting. But Councilman Ron Cawdry raised the issue again Tuesday night, saying the city should not wait to incorporate the changes.

He cited concerns that Edison may abandon or cut back its efforts to muffle noise at the power plant if the council sticks with the current method, which measures the noise level at the homes of complaining residents. That method, company and city experts said at the August meeting, is unworkable because of the difficulty in separating ambient noise from noise caused by an offending source.

Council members Steve Colin and Barbara Doerr opposed Cawdry’s motion to reconsider the Edison proposal, saying more time is needed to determine whether setting a noise limit at the power plant would keep sound at acceptable levels at homes in the area.

However, the motion passed with Councilman Terry Ward backing Cawdry and Mayor Brad Parton breaking a 2-2 tie vote. The fifth council member, Kay Horrell, was absent.