`LATEST VERSION HAS LOT OF MERIT,' MAYOR SAYS OF PARTY ORDINANCE

                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: TUESDAY, February 9, 1993                   TAG: 9302090113
SECTION: CURRENT                    PAGE: NRV-3   EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY 
SOURCE: MICHAEL STOWE STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: BLACKSBURG                                LENGTH: Medium
`LATEST VERSION HAS LOT OF MERIT,' MAYOR SAYS OF PARTY ORDINANCE
The latest version of an ordinance designed to help control block parties in this university town would require large outdoor parties using sound-amplifying equipment to end by 5:30 p.m.
Blacksburg Mayor Roger Hedgepeth said there's a good chance Town Council will adopt the ordinance at tonight's council meeting.
"I think the latest version has a lot of merit," he said.
The proposed ordinance - which combines the town's current noise ordinance with a less-stringent version of a previously considered party ordinance - is designed to focus more on the parties and less on the common social events like family reunions and weddings.
The ordinance would be enforced only at parties with more than 500 people where sound-amplifying equipment is used.
At a meeting last month, several members of council were concerned because the ordinance would allow the use of amplified-sound equipment until 10 p.m.
The ordinance has been rewritten to restrict parties using amplified sound to the hours of 10:30 a.m to 5:30 p.m.
"Most of these parties begin early in the day and by 5:30 the party goers have partied for a number of hours and should be thinking about how they will spend the rest of their evening," Hedgepeth said.
Council proposed the ordinance in the wake of three parties last spring that resulted in 164 arrests, almost half for under-age drinking. This is the third version to be considered by council and four public hearings have been held to discuss the various proposals.
The ordinance would require party organizers to apply for a noise permit at least 30 days before the event and provide adequate parking and at least one portable toilet for every 50 people.
It also includes the formation of a citizens advisory council - with six Virginia Tech student members and five citizens from the town - to help plan and control parties affected by the new law.
Violation of the proposed ordinance will be punishable by up to a $1,000 fine or six months in jail.

by Archana Subramaniam by CNB