Spring Break
Mayor signs tough new noise bill into law
Issue date: 11/15/07
Mayor Sheila Dixon signed into law a tough new neighborhood nuisance measure last week that had stalled in the City Council since its introduction nearly two years ago.
Under the measure, residents who violate the city's noise ordinances - by acting disorderly, using loud profanity or "making an unreasonably loud noise" - twice in a six-month period could face the threat of eviction.
Many fear it will be used to specifically target college students. but city officials say they are simply trying to promote the creation of a new community spirit.
"[It] reflects that you don't just have a responsibility to your property - you also have a responsibility to your neighborhood," said Shaun Adamec, a spokesman for City Council President Stephanie Rawlings-Blake. "And it was written directly in response to neighborhood complaints."
According to Adamec, the ordinance was also designed in part as an alternate way to combat the city's metastatic drug trade. It provides the community with the power to report the unruly, late-night street gatherings that often accompany drug dealing and to have the dealers removed from neighborhoods, he said.
In hearings on the noise ordinance, City Council members agreed "unreasonably loud noises" included anything that could be heard from 50 yards away; a door slamming, someone playing with a baseball bat or students hosting a party.
As Adamec admits, "There are noises [that come with living in a city] that don't exist in a suburban environment ... But the ordinance is targeting habitual offenders."
Robert Turning, the coordinator of Greek life, worries the ordinance will be selectively enforced against college students.
He said that students, particularly those in fraternities and sororities, attract an unfair amount of attention for their parties.
"Because our members wear letters and call themselves a group they have a spotlight on them ... they're more recognizable than three women living in a random house having loud, disruptive events," Turning said.
Under the measure, residents who violate the city's noise ordinances - by acting disorderly, using loud profanity or "making an unreasonably loud noise" - twice in a six-month period could face the threat of eviction.
Many fear it will be used to specifically target college students. but city officials say they are simply trying to promote the creation of a new community spirit.
"[It] reflects that you don't just have a responsibility to your property - you also have a responsibility to your neighborhood," said Shaun Adamec, a spokesman for City Council President Stephanie Rawlings-Blake. "And it was written directly in response to neighborhood complaints."
According to Adamec, the ordinance was also designed in part as an alternate way to combat the city's metastatic drug trade. It provides the community with the power to report the unruly, late-night street gatherings that often accompany drug dealing and to have the dealers removed from neighborhoods, he said.
In hearings on the noise ordinance, City Council members agreed "unreasonably loud noises" included anything that could be heard from 50 yards away; a door slamming, someone playing with a baseball bat or students hosting a party.
As Adamec admits, "There are noises [that come with living in a city] that don't exist in a suburban environment ... But the ordinance is targeting habitual offenders."
Robert Turning, the coordinator of Greek life, worries the ordinance will be selectively enforced against college students.
He said that students, particularly those in fraternities and sororities, attract an unfair amount of attention for their parties.
"Because our members wear letters and call themselves a group they have a spotlight on them ... they're more recognizable than three women living in a random house having loud, disruptive events," Turning said.
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scott adler
posted 11/15/07 @ 7:43 PM EST
I hope this includes loud motor bykes and motorcycles with either no or an ineffective muffler. Same comment about souped up cars.
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