OXFORD – A section of the Village of Oxford’s noise ordinance sparked controversy last month after a local business owner was cited by a resident of the downtown commercial district for violating the statute. After a review of the policy, the village board of trustees has decided to leave the ordinance unchanged.

Nate Gross, owner of a guitar studio on South Canal Street, received two appearance tickets in November when a neighbor complained he had violated section 188-2 (3) of village law. This subparagraph of the local noise ordinance prohibits “noise from any sound reproduction system, operating system or any musical instrument ... in such a manner as to be heard 25 feet from its source or property line.”

Gross uses the studio to provide instruction to more than 30 local students as well as for his band, Panhandle, to practice once a week. It was during two of these practice sessions that the complaints were made.

The business owner said he considered the complaints unfounded as they occurred before the village’s proscribed noise curfew of 9 p.m., and in turn petitioned the village board to review the ordinance.

Specifically, he asked the trustees to change the distance from the property line cited in the ordinance, to qualify it with a decibel measure and/or make a distinction between residential and commerical districts.

The village board of trustees agreed to investigate the matter at their December meeting. As part of the process, Village Mayor Terry Stark reported he gathered information on noise ordinances in other villages, with the assistance of the New York Council of Mayors.