By: Lydia Crawley
The Parsons Advocate
The Parsons City Council started its first session of the 2026 New Year on January 6th by hearing from resident Julie Davis who requested the Council consider adopting or amending a municipal noise ordinance to apply to the tractor trailers that routinely stop overnight in the old Shop n’ Save and Walgreens lots at the beginning of town.
“They are idling when I go to bed and they are idling when I leave for work and I’m not getting any sleep,” Davis said. “I can’t remember the last time I had a good night’s rest because of the noise.”
Davis, who bought her home on top of the hill, across the road from the site, this summer, said that the trucks let their engines idle until six or seven in the morning, well after she leaves for work. Davis said that she doesn’t recall having a good night’s sleep in a long time because of the noise levels.
“The noise from these tractor trailers idling all night long, during what should be quiet hours, when residents should be able to rest peacefully and sleep, to prepare for work the next day, is not happening because of the idling trucks,” Davis said. “They are relentless. They are idling right now. They were idling when I left the house and they will idle until close to six or seven the next morning.”
Davis said that Parsons is her home, she loves it here and has no intentions on moving.
“I just bought a house in Parsons this year. I love it here, this is my home,” Davis said. “Its not that I don’t have compassion for those that drive trucks. They can park somewhere else, but I can’t move my house.”
Davis said there are other sites away from housing where the trucks could idle all night long without disturbing anyone. She suggested Centennial Park for those trucks traveling up the mountain. Other options also exist for those traveling in the direction of St. George, Davis said.
“Other towns and cities in West Virginia have done this,” Davis said.
According to Davis, Philippi has an ordinace that prohibits vehicles from operating in a manner causing unnecessary noise and specifically bans sounds from a vehicle that are audible from 25 feet away. Davis also claimed that Morgantown bans noise disturbances that are audible at 50 feet between the hours of 11 p.m. and 7 a.m. Engine noise was also included during quiet hours, according to Davis. She also said that Wellsburg and Star City also had similar noise ordinances that applied to loud music, as well as vehicle noise.
“I’m not the only resident with these concerns,” Davis said.
City Attorney Tim Stranko said that if the Council was considering such a proposal, his office could work drafting an ordinance in conjunction with City Manager Michael Simmons. Items to consider for any proposed ordinance would be time, noise levels and enforcement, according to Stranko. Stranko said that he could have an ordinance prepared for a first reading at the next meeting. In order to be enacted, any ordinance would need to go through a public notice and two readings, according to Stranko. No formal action could be taken on the matter during Tuesday’s meeting.
Council Member Tim Turner requested the matter be referred to the Ordinance Committee, as well. It was agreed that the matter would be coordinated by the City Attorney and the Ordinance Committee, as well.
Parsons Police Chief Kevin Keplinger said that currently, the site is private property and as such, there is nothing, legally, that his office can do about the matter. As the matter stands currently, there is nothing in City, State or Federal Code that would allow him to approach the drivers and ask them to shut down or leave.
“I mean right now, we can’t,” Keplinger said. “I can’t go down there right now and knock on their door and ask them to shut down. They are doing exactly what the Code of Federal Regulations allows them to do and the West Virginia State Code directs them to do.”
City Council Member Melissa Jones thought that there had been an ordinance in the past that stated a quiet hour starting time of 10 p.m. Keplinger said that he, too, had been under the same impression and had informed individuals of the fact in the past. However, upon close research of the matter, Keplinger could find no noise ordinance to support a 10 p.m. quiet hour in place in the City.
“It does not exist in the Ordinance Book as it stands today,” Keplinger said. “We could not find it today. I read the entire ordinance. So if we want to do that, we will need to do that.”
As the matter stands currently, Keplinger said there is no Code that prohibits what the trucks are doing. Unless the property owner does not want overnight parking on the lot, the trucks are within their rights to park and idle in the lot until such time as the City Council passes a noise ordinance.
“There is nothing in our ordinance right now that would prohibit it happening, there is nothing in West Virginia State Code to prohibit what’s happening right now, there’s nothing in the Code of Federal Regulations, in the CFR, that federally directs.”
Stranko said the State gives the City the power to regulate noise within their boundaries. Which would allow Keplinger and his department to enforce any noise ordinance once enacted.
“There is authority in the State Code for Council to regulate noise in the City limits,” Stranko said. “So that is not problematic.”
In the meanwhile, Keplinger said that contact could be made with the property owner to see if he wants the trucks stopping at the property. Should the owner not want the trucks there, signs could be placed and the matter could be worked as a trespass, according to Keplinger. It would be a stopgap measure until such time as the Council decides on whether or not to adopt a formal noise ordinance.
“So what we may want to do, as well is, contact the owner of the property itself and he’s never told us that he doesn’t want vehicles there,” Keplinger said. “If he doesn’t want vehicles there, then he can place signs. We can work it as a trespass.”
No formal action was taken on the matter at the meeting as the discussion was raised during the public comment section of the meeting’s agenda, which by law prohibits the City from taking any action on any subject presented.
