[Chat] FWD: Anti-noise bill meets praise, concern

[jdy]

who will enforce this? is there some kind of measuring device that will be
carried around to measure the decibels?
judy
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "arjay" <arjay at bcpl.net>
To: "Charles Village Chat" <Chat at charlesvillage.info>; "Charles Village
Discussion" <Discussion at charlesvillage.info>
Sent: Wednesday, November 02, 2005 8:58 AM
Subject: [Chat] FWD: Anti-noise bill meets praise, concern


> >===== Original Message From arjay at bcpl.net =====
> This story was sent to you by: arjay at bcpl.net
>
> --------------------
> Anti-noise bill meets praise, concern
> --------------------
>
> City Council proposal backed by residents, but some critics worry about
> violated free-speech rights
>
> By Doug Donovan
> Sun reporter
>
> November 2, 2005
> A City Council proposal to substantially increase penalties against noisy
> neighbors may provide a painful civics lesson for raucous college students
> renting apartments and houses in North Baltimore.
>
> While the proposed measure aims to address excessive noise throughout
> Baltimore, it appears to have been spurred by neighborhood complaints
about
> commotion caused by off-campus students from Loyola College and Towson
> University.
>
> "This issue is probably the most significant one that we face," said Sam
> Stevenson, president of the Lake Evesham Community Association. "[Noise]
is
> the most consistently discussed topic of conversation" at community
meetings.
>
> In Lake Evesham, wedged between York Road and Bellona Avenue south of Lake
> Avenue, several single-family houses are rented to college students,
Stevenson
> said. There are also many townhouses along Northern Parkway, the
> neighborhood's southern boundary, occupied by Loyola and Towson
> undergraduates.
>
> Stevenson and other community leaders said their neighborhoods are
troubled by
> the stereotypical antics of college students, mostly loud late-night
parties.
> In early October, city police arrested 32 students for a party at a house
in
> the 800 block of E. Lake Ave.
>
> "All of the guys who live in there are Sigma Pi [fraternity] kids," said
> Susanna Craine, a Towson spokesman.
>
> A Sigma Pi member contacted last night - who declined to be identified
because
> he is not an authorized fraternity spokesman - acknowledged the members
are
> aware of problems at the house and said the group is trying to respect the
> neighborhood. The fraternity's president could not be reached.
>
> All of the students who were arrested were released from custody. But if
the
> proposed law had been in place, they might not have had a house to come
home
> to.
>
> The council proposal, introduced by Council Vice President Stephanie C.
> Rawlings Blake, provides for punishments including eviction, $1,000 fines,
> yearlong imprisonment and the city's right to "close" offending
properties.
>
> The proposal would ban daytime noise in residential areas over 55
decibels -
> about the volume of a loud conversation.
>
> Excessive noise would become a public nuisance - joining prostitution and
> lewdness, gambling and drug sales - if the property owner were convicted
of
> violating the ordinance twice or more in two years. Once that happened,
the
> proposal would permit the police commissioner to hold a hearing and "order
the
> closing of the premises" for up to one year.
>
> Owners could escape penalties by posting bonds and promising to refrain
from
> excessive noise, or by taking the city to court.
>
> As the council considers the legislation, questions have been raised about
> enforcement and possible threats to free speech.
>
> "On first blush it sounds a little extreme," Mayor Martin O'Malley said
> yesterday.
>
> But, he added, he believes all city residents have a responsibility to
respect
> their neighbors. He said the proposal might have been born of frustration
from
> residents who have had a hard time proving violations of the existing
> ordinance.
>
> Under Baltimore's health code, the threshold is 55 decibels in residential
> areas during the day and slightly lower at night. The law lets the city
seek
> judgments of up to $1,000 against offenders, or issue $100 citations. On
> average, fewer than a dozen tickets are written each year.
>
> "It's hard to prove," O'Malley said. "You have to be there at just the
right
> time."
>
> Several lawyers said the city will have to be careful not to offend
> constitutional protections of free speech by selectively enforcing the
law.
>
> Charles Keller III, a lawyer who unsuccessfully challenged a noise
ordinance
> in Syracuse, N.Y., said such nuisance laws can face legal challenges if
they
> are used as "pretexts to stop and detain someone and to search them."
>
> But David C. Vladeck, an associate professor at Georgetown University Law
> Center, said all cities have the right to enforce such laws.
>
> "Noise can be viewed properly by the city as another form of pollution,"
> Vladeck said.
>
> Chad Foice, president of the North Charles Business Association, said he
is
> concerned with the 55-decibel threshold because several establishments in
his
> neighborhood provide outdoor seating.
>
> "It is something I'll watch in case we have to get involved," said Foice,
> general manager of Rocky Run, a restaurant and bar on St. Paul Street.
>
> Another business owner, however, said she would welcome the ordinance.
Alicia
> Horn, owner of Birds of a Feather in Fells Point, said her single-malt
scotch
> bar is a quiet establishment where customers sip drinks to classical
music.
> But she said the noise outside her Aliceanna Street bar - and her
apartment
> upstairs - is unbearable.
>
> She said she has a white-noise machine in her bedroom to get to sleep. She
> said the proposed legislation would provide more ammunition to make
offenders,
> including bar owners, more accountable.
>
> "I hope [the legislation] goes through," Horn said. "But it has to be
> enforced."
>
> doug.donovan at baltsun.com
>
> Copyright (c) 2005, The Baltimore Sun | Get Sun home delivery
>
> Link to the article:
>
http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/local/bal-md.noise02nov02,1,5697080.story?coll=bal-home-headlines
>
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