June 3, 2008
Noise Bill Passed, But Won't Do Anything About Noise
The D.C. Council earlier today passed an amended version of the noise bill first introduced by Tommy Wells and Mary Cheh that was born out of Ward 6 resident David Klavitter's crusade to put an end to amplified street preachers keeping him awake at his home near H Street NE. But Wells and Cheh actually voted against this bill, after it was basically gutted by an amendment introduced by Ward 5 Council member Harry Thomas Jr. that was a major concession to union groups.
This new version, which passed 9-4 with Cheh and Wells being joined by David Catania and Carol Schwartz voting against, limits noncommercial speech during the day to 80 decibels in residential areas only, as measured from within an occupied residence. Previously the bill had sought to limit amplified speech to 70 decibels outside, and included both residential and commercial streets. So, more or less, it's going to be very hard for residents to do anything about loud amplified speech unless the folks with bullhorns are standing directly under their windows, and they don't live anywhere near a high-density commercial corridor.
There was quite a bit of criticism levied against the unions that targeted Council members Kwame Brown (D-At Large) and Yvette Alexander (D-Ward 7), but that didn't stop those who did the criticizing (notably Chair Vincent Gray and Ward 8's Marion Barry) from voting for the bill anyway. Both Brown and Alexander switched their support to vote in favor of the amended legislation after radio ads aired that painted them as being anti-free speech. Unions, working together under the name Speak and Be Heard Coalition, produced the ads and lobbied the council members because they were concerned the rules might limit their ability to picket.
Greater Greater Washington also has a good rundown of how it all happened.
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Sommer,
So are you saying this bill is just a paper tiger?
Ah, Rees.
Council got pwned! by the unions. As much as Gray complained about the hardball tactics the unions played with their protests and ads, it worked.
that photo is too funny
Boo
BS, the Council behaving this way. Voters ought to remember this the next time at the polls, but alas, we won't.
80 dB within a residence is pretty loud. Normal conversation is 60 dB.
80 would be like having the Black Israelites sans amplifiers in your living room shouting at you. They only way to produce that level of sound from outside is with an amplifier.
All you gotta do is say earmuffs and then you can say anything you want...
How about a bill to enforce excessive vehicle noise regulations? That it what sets the level for the city's soundscape.
I'd agree with Mike about the need to limit vehicle noise, but the air conditioner roaring right outside my window is making me think twice about what's worse...
This new law, on the other hand, is a joke. Does it specify windows open or closed? Does the noise still have to be going on when the noise enforcers arrive, or can I take a picture of my dB meter as evidence?
Proof positive that DC is still a banana republic. Why is is that we can't manage to pass a reasonable noise bill like, you know, every other major American city already has, and has had for some time?
Yes, we've got new coffeeshops and hipsters by the truckload, but from an actual governance standpoint not that much has changed in DC.
hillman - same reason why we can never pass a Bottle Bill that will get the homeless to collect and trade in empties for booze money. There's too much vested interest in the status quo. Also, there's the old saw, I believe by Voltaire, that, and I'm paraphrasing here, "S**t rolls uphill towards money."
I wondered what that gurgling brown sludge was I saw passing by my house the other day, rolling toward either the Capitol or the Wilson Building, or both.
Meh, seems like they split the baby.
"This new version, which passed 9-4 with Cheh and Wells being joined by David Catania and Carol Schwartz voting against, limits noncommercial speech during the day to 80 decibels in residential areas only, as measured from within an occupied residence."
See, who says that protesting outside Evans' house was in vain? They modified the bill to specifically prevent *that* behavior while leaving the original residents in NE unprotected. Yay, Democracy!