DCist: NOISE BILL PASSES! (Shhhhh! Quietly.)

downtown rez

Wed, 07 May 2008 23:05:12 -0500

So, I guess if this passes churches can still blast music at midnight and electronic bulletin boards can still loop the same endless commercial, but no one can protest in front of Jack's GT home anymore? The irony.

DC Guy

Wed, 07 May 2008 16:33:11 -0500

Mike Licht....actually this has been an issue in other parts of the city which have had residents enduring months on end protests in purely residential neighborhoods. The ignorance of Ms. Bowser is not surprising.

Disco Stu

Wed, 07 May 2008 15:49:23 -0500

Jim Graham was against... Hmmm...

jdg

Wed, 07 May 2008 15:31:52 -0500

I regularly get 60 decibels of noise walking by my apartment on Friday and Saturday nights in the form of people leaving the bars on 18th street. You should of heard the screaming last Friday night...

Mike Licht

Wed, 07 May 2008 15:29:31 -0500

"This is not a citywide problem. This is an H Street problem, and everybody knows it." -- council member Muriel Bowser (D-Ward 4)in the Post. It is actually the problem of a guy named Dave, who has lots of free time and doesn't want to admit that buying a house near a commercial strip had drawbacks.

OldPosterKnownAsCranky

Wed, 07 May 2008 14:07:32 -0500

@Hillman - I would imagine the fed-up H Street residents simply wouldn't get anything out of a lawsuit. They're not going to get any money damages. And it's likely the preacher haters would just ignore any court summons or any judgment against them.

iAManugget

Wed, 07 May 2008 13:53:40 -0500

well this is an issue for us with voice demodulation disorder.

Hillman

Wed, 07 May 2008 13:41:43 -0500

What's funny is that it's my understanding that the H & 8th preachers doing all the noise-making all live in Philadelphia and other locations that have noise ordinances far stricter than the proposed DC one. Nothing like having one set of standards for yourself and others for somebody else's 'hood. What I don't understand is why affected DC residents don't sue these guys in civil court as a nuisance? It's a decent bet that a DC jury would be sympathetic, and I think the First Amendment argument isn't nearly as strong in good old fashioned 'my neighbor is a prick and making my daily life hell' lawsuits.

DC Guy

Wed, 07 May 2008 12:55:35 -0500

CM Alexander's quote is priceless. These votes against should prompt legal, but annoying protests at the offending politicians residences.

DL in DC

Wed, 07 May 2008 12:02:28 -0500

Cranky: Yup, I now see that the DCRA has responsibility after reading the Post article. I was just going by what Martin had written/linked above.

OldPosterKnownAsCranky

Wed, 07 May 2008 11:20:04 -0500

@DL: The successful Brown amendment puts the decibel measuring authority with DCRA.

OldPosterKnownAsCranky

Wed, 07 May 2008 11:15:21 -0500

@Reid: The decibels are measured 50 feet from the source of the noise or from the residential property (although it doesn't say if that means right at the property line or indoors). For non-residential zones, it's measured only at 50 feet distance from the source and you get an additional 10 decibels.

DL in DC

Wed, 07 May 2008 11:14:24 -0500

Dude/Hillman, Martin wrote that Jack Evans' amendments were defeated, included moving enforcement to the DCRA.

Hillman

Wed, 07 May 2008 11:00:48 -0500

Hilarious. Anyone here actually think DCRA will show up for a noise complaint on a Saturday or Sunday morning? Anybody?

rabo k

Wed, 07 May 2008 10:59:08 -0500

they need to do something about the decibel level of metro bus squealing brakes. they could pop a tympanum.

monkeyrotica

Wed, 07 May 2008 10:48:12 -0500

So who exactly is in the pro-noise contingent? Out-of-town churchies? ACLU? Just the homo-and-gentrifyer-hatin' megaphone nuts? Earplug manufacturers? Xtena - I didn't mention how much enamel I knocked off the commode because I'm a goddamned gentleman.

Reid

Wed, 07 May 2008 10:40:13 -0500

But from where do they measure the volume? Is it three feet infront of the speaker, or from the resident's living room? If something is routinely wafting into your living room at 60 decibles, that still sucks. In an early city desk post they mentioned something about having to get the city to come in a take volume readings in your house. Did that make it to the final bill? It's kind of funny to see Jack so in the tank for the unions. Is that really his base of support?

Xtena

Wed, 07 May 2008 10:31:06 -0500

monk, ew. really, must you be so crass.... is it me or does anybody else like the name DeBonis? i think it's rather randy

monkeyrotica

Wed, 07 May 2008 10:25:34 -0500

Protesting outside hotels sounds pretty cool. Anthing to piss off the tourists and keep them from coming back to DC. I would also expand that to include libraries, senior centers, and hospitals that perform brain surgery. 80 decibels is nothing. I regularly hit that after a couple 1/2 Pound Beef and Potato Burritos at Taco Bell.

DudeLooksLikeALady

Wed, 07 May 2008 10:15:12 -0500

Great, since DCRA has done such an outstanding job enforcing housing code violations by slumlords, I'm sure they'll get right on the noise violators.

DCMama

Wed, 07 May 2008 10:11:47 -0500

Does this only apply to protests? Or also to neighbors blasting music from windows/cars/porches? How is a protest defined? What if I just stand on the corner and play loud music from a boom box, but protest nothing?

McGillicuddy

Wed, 07 May 2008 09:59:29 -0500

this is bullshhhhhhhhhhhhit.