Opinion ID: 77679
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Does the County Have a Significant Government Interest at Stake?

Text: 49 Having determined that the County noise ordinance is content-neutral, we may now review the ordinance to see whether it contains permissible time, place and manner restrictions. The pertinent test requires that we apply intermediate scrutiny as our standard of review— whether the ordinance is narrowly tailored to achieve a significant government interest and leaves open ample alternative channels of communication. 50 In their Joint Pretrial Stipulation, the parties stated that the [g]overnment has a substantial interest in protecting citizens from unwelcome noise. The Supreme Court has endorsed this view, noting that the government may act to protect traditional public fora such as city streets and parks from excessive noise. Ward, 491 U.S. at 796, 109 S.Ct. 2746. 9 Accordingly, we find, as the district court did, that the County has a significant government interest in regulating reproduced sound.