The City Council voted last night to soften the music of Cambridge street performers--an action critics said would effectively ban drummers from playing in the city.

Noise from public performances must not exceed 80 decibels when measured from a distance of 25 feet and must be inaudible from a distance of 150 feet, the order says. In addition, the city will have the authority to shut down performances whose noise levels exceed 50 decibels when measured in private residences.

Previously, street performers were prohibited form exceeding 80 decibels at 50 feet.

The order, which had been tabled after extensive debate at the Council's last meeting in June, was approved by a vote of five to three.

Members of the Street Artists Guild said they were disappointed by the Council's decision.

"The order has given a lot of censorship power to a few resi- dents," said the Guild's Executive DirectorStephen Baird.

Drummer Marcello Ozain said that the order'sprovisions, if enforced, would virtually ban himfrom performing in Cambridge. The noise levelrestrictions are impossible for drummers tomonitor, he said.

"How do we know that we're audible at 150feet?" Ozain said.

In the month since the last meeting councillorssaid they had conducted their own research on thetopic.

Councillor Francis H. Duehay '55, who voted infavor of the order, expressed concern that hecould hear a group of drummers in Brattle Squarefrom six blocks away on Sunday.

"It was extremely loud. If I were a resident, Iwouldn't have put up with it," he said.

Mayor Kenneth E. Reeves '72, who voted againstthe order, praised the "extraordinary drumming" hehad heard that same night and remarked upon theenthusiasm of the crowd assembled to watch thestreet musicians.

Councillor Cyr expressed his concern about thelack of enforcement of existing nose levelrestrictions, noting that for the past two months,city officials had not been present in the squareto monitor street performances.

"I think for [the order] to work, it can't bethe police [who enforce the law," he said, urgingthat citizens "supportive of people performing inthe Square," be hired to check their noise levels.

In other business, Councillors adopted an orderasking the city manager to conduct a study on thecondition of low rent units in the city andprepare a program for their repair.

Councillors also criticized the performance ofthe city's inspectional services commissioner,Joseph Cellucci and his staff in enforcingbuilding codes.

Last month, Cellucci's department wascriticized by tenants for allowing rent controlincreases in apartments that allegedly did notmeet city codes.

Cellucci's confession that "he lackedsufficient resources" to inspect house properlybefore a meeting of the council's rent controlsubcommittee was an admission that "the emperorhas no clothes," said Cyr