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New noise ordinance proposed in Shorewood
Suburb grapples with increase in student residents
By Katie Crabb
“We want to keep the neighborhoods safe and calm.” – David Banaszynski, Shorewood police chief
In part due to complaints against University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee students, Shorewood Police Chief David Banaszynski has revealed plans for a more stringent noise ordinance.
The police department has noticed an increase in noise complaints over the past couple of years. There were 276 complaints in 2004, but this year complaints are already close to surpassing that number.
“We want to keep the neighborhoods safe and calm,” Banaszynski said.
UWM students have been linked to some of the problems in the suburb. The rise of noise complaints correlates to the increase in UWM students finding housing in the area. Students may be contributing to the noise by breaking an ordinance already in place.
According to Shorewood restrictions, a maximum of three unrelated persons are allowed to live within one household, but some landlords are not enforcing these restrictions.
“We are requesting stiffer fines for this and fines if landlords even offer to rent to more than three,” Banaszynski said.
Still, others are concerned over the deteriorating behavior, often attributed to UWM students, in Shorewood. Violations for property damage, profanity, drinking and other behavioral issues have risen steadily, prompting the police department to search for answers. The ordinance is not meant to be specifically aimed at the UWM student body, however.
“It's not always the student's fault; the landlord is also responsible,” Banaszynski said. The police department hopes to be able to work with the student body as well as neighboring groups to handle the situation as best as possible.
“We have talked to the university and will be working with them. I'm open to talking with the student board. We would rather work with the students than issue them citations and have problems later,” Banaszynski said.
The new ordinance is still being drafted and is not yet ready for implementation. The Shorewood Police Department is looking at regulations in La Crosse, Green Bay and other areas in Milwaukee as models. They will try to blend these regulations to best fit the community. The ordinance should be completed by the end of the year.
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