Here's yet another example of an enlightened community response to noise pollution.

The Hawaii County Council, Police Department and the Administration needs to take a hard look at incorporating legislative and enforcement avenues to address the issue.


San Antonio, Tx

Amended noise law could be costly

Web Posted: 04/23/2007 05:21 PM CDT

Chuck McCollough
Express-News Staff Writer

The party police have a warning - turn it down or pay up big time.

A newly amended city noise ordinance will hit repeat offenders hard in the
wallet when they disturb neighbors, rattle windows and make eardrums hurt
with loud music, usually late at night.

The amended noise ordinance was passed unanimously by City Council on April
5 and goes into effect June 5, city officials said.

When a police officer or Code Compliance officer investigates a noise
complaint at the same site twice in one night or "subsequent" times over the
following 60 days, the person or persons responsible for noise will be
liable for the cost of sending the officers, the amendment states.

Violators can be charged "reasonable costs" - the expense of sending police
or Code Compliance officers to the same location more than once. Those costs
also will include:

A $150 administrative fee

Any medical treatment for injured officers

Repair to any city equipment or property

"This could cost the person responsible for the party hundreds and hundreds
of dollars," said David L. Garza, director of the city's Housing and
Neighborhood Services Department.

The cost for each additional disturbance-call visit to the same location can
be as much as $1,000, according to the amendment. But that amount can be
waived if the person responsible for the party calls police and assists
officers in dispersing persons at the gathering, the amendment also says.

The $1,000 limit per incident applies only to the city's cost for sending
one or more officers to the same location multiple times, Garza said. It
does not include the administrative fee or costs for medical treatment or
damages to city property, he said.

"We've had 1,000 noise complaints through March 31, the first half of our
fiscal year, and 250 of those were for repeat offenders," Garza said.

Based on that percentage of repeat offenders and complaints from such groups
as the District 10 Neighborhood Alliance, the city pushed for revision of
the noise ordinance, he said.

Mike Gallagher with the District 10 Neighborhood Alliance praised the
amendment.

"We believe this strengthens the noise ordinance in a big way and gives
police and Code Compliance officers more power to solve the problem," he
said.

"Loud music is a problem all over the city, and especially in places where
people throw a lot of parties at the same place. The District 10 Alliance
will be watching implementation of this amended noise ordinance, and if we
find a weakness in it, we'll recommend additional changes to the city," he
said.

The amendment creates a special division called "party, gathering, event"
and defines those three terms as "five or more persons who have assembled or
are assembling in a manner so as to create substantial disturbance of the
quiet enjoyment of private or public property."

The amendment also addresses excessive traffic, fights or other disturbances
of the peace associated with parties, Garza said.

"And the party doesn't have to be at a house. It can be any place you have a
crowd (five or more people) making too much noise in a public or private
location that disturbs the area around it," he noted.

Northeast Side resident Gus Wieters first started talking to the city 14
years ago about loud noise near his house, especially at a self-service car
wash late at night.

Wieters said he and other Northeast Side residents met with City Manager
Sheryl Sculley and Police Chief William McManus about noise ordinance repeat
offenders, and that meeting helped lead to the new amendment.

Even though the amended ordinance doesn't go into effect until June, people
planning big Fiesta parties or other events should take heed, Garza said.

If officers go to an address or location multiple times before the amendment
kicks in, Code Compliance and the San Antonio Police Department will base
their actions on a record of any earlier calls to the location, he said.