FAIRHOPE, Ala. - In recent years, the last City Council meeting of the year has been a perfunctory and even lighthearted one, where some council members have been known to wear stuffed animal reindeer antlers at the dais.

But Monday’s meeting could be different, as well as the 5 p.m. work session preceding it.

Three proposed ordinances are scheduled for a vote at the Dec. 27 meeting, two of which have strong proponents and opponents among council members and in the community.

Months in the drafting, an amended noise ordinance is expected for a final vote, which could turn out a sizable audience, even during the holiday season.

“We are attempting to be fair to the citizens and the businesses equally,” said Councilman Rick Kingrea, who is an attorney and has taken a leadership role in revising a law that has pitted some citizens against a few local businesses over what has become a heated and contentious issue.

“As is often said in mediation, not everyone will be happy but we hope everyone will be satisfied with the outcome,” Kingrea said. “Our goal is to keep Fairhope as unique as possible while adjusting to the continuing growth of our beautiful community.”

The range of opinions on the issues is demonstrated by a letter to the editor in today’s newspaper strongly opposing the proposed ordinance and that of local attorney Sam Crosby, representing Fly Creek Cafe, which features live music some nights and has been the focus of much of the discontent by some citizens with the current law and its enforcement.

“The proposed noise ordinance as amended has objective standards that are clearer and fairer to Fairhope businesses and citizens,” Crosby said. “It does not have the void-for-vagueness constitutional issues of the existing ordinance.”

Another resident who has played a continuing role in the debate is Mark Polon, who lives near two late-night establishments.

“My public comments from a previous council meeting are that the noise ordinance uses the Mobile ordinance for its model rather than the noise ordinances of Daphne, Orange Beach or Destin,” Polon said. “Mobile has maximum decibels of 85 while the other towns have 60 or 65 as maximums. My point is that Fairhope is much more like Daphne and Orange Beach than it is Mobile.”

In addition to the noise ordinance, a major revision of the city’s “tree ordinance” is also scheduled for a vote at Monday’s meeting.

The city’s Tree Committee has been at work on those revisions for more than a year, which will first be discussed at Monday’s work session.

“The revised tree ordinance that the committee proposes is meant to clarify the process as developers move through the bureaucracy,” said Bobby Green, the committee’s chairman. “The language has not changed much but is in (a more logical) order now. The “bible” of tree protection during construction (a pamphlet from the International Arborist Society) would become a part of the ordinance and those measures followed. That would eliminate the unintended destruction of trees as we are now seeing at the (satellite) courthouse expansion.”

Finally, a proposal to provide what its sponsor Councilwoman Debbie Quinn says will increase public participation at council meetings is also scheduled for a vote at the last council meeting of 2010.