CHEYENNE — Now that the debate over whether to pass more stringent restrictions on noisy vehicles is finished, the focus shifts to how to enforce the city’s controversial new ordinance.
Residents made their final pleas for and against the new rules before the Cheyenne City Council passed the ordinance Monday. Some argued it could drive away young residents, and others that it could negatively impact car and motorcycle enthusiasts who modify the sound of their engines.
“I don’t think there’s a good way to monitor it,” resident Andrew Aragon said. “I think there’s too much ambiguity in how you’re going to enforce it.”
Nick Dodgson, owner of Cheyenne Motorsports, argued that enforcing the ordinance may alienate people who enjoy driving large trucks, which could stunt Cheyenne’s growth.
In responding to these concerns, the council put in place several safeguards it hopes will mitigate the impacts caused by the ordinance. As to how the city can enforce the ordinance, that’s addressed, the council says.
Cheyenne Police Chief Mark Francisco said during the meeting he was confident in his department’s ability to enforce the ordinance.
“I didn’t hear anything there that we couldn’t do,” he said.
Francisco said during the measure’s second reading earlier this month that the standard would be applied evenly to all drivers.
“Honestly, the decibel reading would be at any time during the operation of the vehicle or it could pertain to loud music and it really goes beyond vehicles anyways, it goes to generators, things like that,” he said.
Enforcement
The measure works in tandem with preexisting city noise restrictions but allows police to now measure decibel levels on moving vehicles.
Current city noise regulations say 80 decibels is the maximum permitted. City code previously required this to be measured at a distance of 25 feet, making it difficult to use decibel measuring technology to enforce the rules on moving vehicles.
With the ordinance in place, the decibel regulation will now be much easier to apply to cars and motorcycles. The ordinance also beefs up current vehicle requirements to prohibit those that create “excessive smoke” or do not have a properly installed muffler.
The measure takes effect Saturday.
While the ordinance includes the threat of jail time upon a third violation, City Attorney John Brodie said Monday this is only to remain compliant with state laws requiring punishments for local violations to match those set up by the state.
“It would be extremely unlikely for a person to go to jail under this ordinance,” he said. “If anything, jail is maybe an imposed part of the sentence that would then be suspended."
Constituent Driven
City Councilman Scott Roybal told Cowboy State Daily the ordinance was likely the most controversial issue he had seen since the council permitted the keeping of backyard chickens.
The noise ordinance, he said, is “constituent driven” and intended to solve a persistent problem in the city.
“It was getting to the point where I couldn’t walk into Safeway without hearing a story about living off of Del Range and hearing the motorcycles all night,” Roybal said. “It resonated not just with me, but all nine of us plus the mayor.”
Roybal said he understands those who worry the ordinance could lead to them being punished simply for operating their vehicles. He explained it is meant only for the “five or six idiots” who operate their vehicles in an unsafe way and won't impact the majority of safe drivers.
The councilman also addressed backlash from constituents that the measure makes Cheyenne like cities like Denver or Los Angeles and could drive away young residents.
“The argument was ‘the young people are leaving, the place is going to be desolate,’” he said. “The first time I ran for city council I think the city had a population of about 49,000. We’re closer to 69,000 or 70,000 now.”
“They’re not going, they’re coming,” he said. “That’s why we need to stay ahead of noise pollution and the consequences a large population may bring. Sometimes they may hurt a little bit but in the long run we’re not trying to hurt anyone.”
Roybal described the ordinance as “another drawer in the Snap-On tool chest” for police officers to keep the city safe, and said he trusts Cheyenne police to use the measure in a responsible way.
He also said simply having conversations around noise enforcement was enough to quiet much of the street noise that has grown so frustrating to some in Cheyenne.
“I live on 20th Street, and it used to be a racetrack some nights,” he said. “I haven’t woken up to a motorcycle in a month.”
Halloween Review
An amendment to the ordinance proposed by Councilwoman Michelle Aldrich would require the council to revisit the ordinance on October 31, 2026 to determine its usefulness. The council said it would take into account data from the Cheyenne Police Department and community feedback when deciding to permanently enshrine the new rule.
Aldrich told Cowboy State Daily she hopes the review process will raise future debate about the efficacy of the ordinance.
"The idea of a one year review in October 2026 is to allow us to look at the data that the Cheyenne Police Department collects over the next year to see if we need to modify or change the ordinance,” she wrote via email. "I am hoping to see data on whether it is cars or motorcycles generating the most complaints, time of day we are getting complaints, locations where we get more complaints, how many are also speeding, how many are for muffler modifications, how many are dismissed, and how many repeat offenders they are, the average age of those being ticketed, and the overall number of tickets being given for this in relationship to the historical data."
"Once we have this data we can begin to refine the ordinance if necessary by adding perhaps some of the ideas expressed by Dr. Stephenson last night such as noise zones, noise curfews, etc,” she added.
Aldrich during Monday’s meeting also specifically called for information on the number of tickets issued and whether the tickets were mostly assessed to cars or motorcycles. She also said time of day and location will be important datapoints to determine the impact of the ordinance.
The review was set for roughly one year in advance so it could be reviewed by the same council that enacted it. Aldrich said during the meeting she believed such a safeguard would be critical to the longevity of the measure.
“There have been a lot of questions raised,” she said during the meeting. “I think that we’ve made a huge impact already just by having this conversation.”
Jackson Walker can be reached at walker@cowboystatedaily.com.
