What constitutes as noise, and how loud is too loud? These are some of the questions officials in the Village of Lindenhurst are hoping to answer with a new noise ordinance.

Officials in Lindenhurst admit that their own village ordinance that deals with noise is vague and that many times when there are complaints about a violation, it's up to the code enforcement officer to determine whether or not there is a violation.

For that reason, the village is proposing a new ordinance that sets allowable decibel levels for specific categories -- everything from screeching tires to air conditioning.

"The intention of the village is to create an ordinance that's transparent, that people can understand and it takes away the discretion from the code enforcement and puts a scientific standard in its place," says village attorney Gerard Glass. "We create certain decibel levels at specific times of the day with geographic restrictions that are defined to be unreasonable noise."

Nanette Baltrus lives right by some businesses that she and her neighbors say can be very noisy.

"We put up a sign with all the kids we have playing outside saying 'Slow down, kids are playing,' and the truck actually knocked it over," says Megan Schaming.

Some business owners were reluctant to speak on-camera, but expressed concerns that the ordinance could be too restrictive and hurt their day-to-day operations.

The village has held two public hearings so far on the proposed changes. A third is scheduled for early March, followed by a vote by the village board.