Myrtle Beach Muffler Melee Begins
The motorcycle battles in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina show no sign of ending.
Just after the South Carolina Supreme Court struck down Myrtle Beach’s helmet law, a Virginia-based lawyer filed a lawsuit on behalf of several bikers and motorcycle groups in Myrtle Beach, claiming city ordinances passed nearly two years, particularly a noise ordinance, ago don’t follow state law.
Myrtle Beach City Council passed stricter noises ordinances two years ago in an unabashed and admitted attempt to chase and keep motorcyclists out of the Atlantic Coast resort city.
In short, the ordinance requires bikers to have mufflers on their motorcycle exhaust to keep noise below the 89 decibel level while idle. The ordinance says motorcyclists must also must have an EPA issued sticker that state their bike meets federal noise reduction laws outlined by the ordinance, but are not required by South Carolina law.
Under the final version of the noise ordinance amendment, which gained final approval in March 2009, no vehicles except emergency vehicles can be louder than 89 decibels when measured from 20 inches away from the exhaust pipe, at a 45-degree angle, while the vehicle is idling.
Bikers like ABATE member Gary Balcom feel city council crossed the line with the noise ordinance. Tom McGrath, is the same Virginia-based attorney who won the helmet law case against the city in May, has filed a lawsuit on behalf of Balcom’s group, ABATE, and several other bikers.
“It’s frustrating because basically they’re trying to run us out of Myrtle Beach,” said Balcom. “As far as a personal level, we feel like we’re being singled out. If they decide your bike’s too loud you’ll be issued a ticket and your motorcycle will be towed,”
The noise ordinance wasn't included in the case the high court heard in February because the focus was on the helmet law.
"They were issuing tickets left and right [under the helmet law]," McGrath said. "No one we know had gotten a ticket under the noise ordinance. It's still sitting there, and the city has bought decibel meters, so we assume they are planning to use them. We felt we shouldn't let the ordinance stay on the books."
The lawsuit says the city's law interferes with the uniformity of state law, that it is pre-empted by state law and is unconstitutional. McGrath said he felt it best to give the Circuit Court the first chance to make the decision in this case.
"Let's see if the judge will follow the Supreme Court's opinion," he said.
This case is making more waves in Myrtle Beach. Myrtle Beach city spokesman Mark Kruea says the city has spent $64,000 in legal fees in previous biker related cases. City money spent on legal fees will rise now that the bikers are suing again. Additionally, the city must refund between $13,000 and $14,000 in fines and interest payments on the helmet tickets it prosecuted over the past two years.
The new lawsuit comes just as Myrtle Beach is struggling to revamp its ordinances to try and comply with the high court’s ruling. The city seems determined to keep as many of the anti-motorcycle ordinances as it can, in spite of the spanking it just received.
No date for a hearing on the new case was available.
