The Text of Councilmember Brown's Amendment
Here's the text of the amendment offered by At-Large Councilmember Kwame Brown and adopted by the D.C. City Council during its first reading on May 6.
It's important to note that the unamplified voice IS and WILL REMAIN exempt from the D.C. noise ordinance at all times.
AN AMENDMENT
#__1__
IN THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
Date: May 6, 2008
Amendment offered by: Councilmember Kwame Brown
to: Bill 17-0177 "Noise Control Protection Amendment Act of 2008 "
Version:
Introduced _____
Committee Print _____
First Reading __x__
Amended First Reading _____
Engrossed _____
Enrolled _____
Unidentified _____
A. Long Title Page 1 Line(s) 20-22
The long title is amended by striking “district;” and inserting the phrase “district, or exceeds the greater of 80 decibels, or 10 decibels above the ambient noise level, when measured at a distance of 50 feet in districts not zoned residential;” in its place.
B. Section 2 Page 1 Lines 28-34
Section 2 is amended by striking:
“A noise shall not be considered a noise disturbance if it is made during noncommercial public speaking during the daytime and does not exceed the greater of 70 decibels, or 10 decibels above the ambient noise level, when measured at a distance of 50 feet from the source of the noise, or inside the nearest occupied residence in districts zoned R-1A, R-1B, R-2, R-3, or R-4.”
and inserting in its place:
“A noise shall not be considered a noise disturbance if it is made during noncommercial public speaking during the daytime and does not exceed the greater of 70 decibels, or 10 decibels above the ambient noise level, when measured at a distance of 50 feet from the source of the noise, or from the nearest occupied residence in districts zoned R-1A, R-1B, R-2, R-3, or R-4. A noise shall not be considered a noise disturbance if it is made during noncommercial public speaking during the daytime and does not exceed the greater of 80 decibels, or 10 decibels above the ambient noise level, when measured at a distance of 50 feet in all other zoned districts. Except as it may otherwise conflict with the provisions of this act, all measurements of noise levels shall be performed and verified by qualified inspectors of the Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs in accordance with the requirements specified in Chapter 29 of Title 20 of the District of Columbia Municipal Regulations.”
Rationale:
To accommodate the increased noise in downtown neighborhoods, a greater threshold is created for non-residential zoned districts. This provision guarantees, as a matter of right, that amplified noise downtown can be twice as loud as the noise around it, while also providing residential neighborhoods greater noise protections. In addition, this amendment clarifies the original intent of the legislation that the noise provisions be enforced properly and by trained and qualified DCRA inspectors, not Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) officers.
It's important to note that the unamplified voice IS and WILL REMAIN exempt from the D.C. noise ordinance at all times.
AN AMENDMENT
#__1__
IN THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
Date: May 6, 2008
Amendment offered by: Councilmember Kwame Brown
to: Bill 17-0177 "Noise Control Protection Amendment Act of 2008 "
Version:
Introduced _____
Committee Print _____
First Reading __x__
Amended First Reading _____
Engrossed _____
Enrolled _____
Unidentified _____
A. Long Title Page 1 Line(s) 20-22
The long title is amended by striking “district;” and inserting the phrase “district, or exceeds the greater of 80 decibels, or 10 decibels above the ambient noise level, when measured at a distance of 50 feet in districts not zoned residential;” in its place.
B. Section 2 Page 1 Lines 28-34
Section 2 is amended by striking:
“A noise shall not be considered a noise disturbance if it is made during noncommercial public speaking during the daytime and does not exceed the greater of 70 decibels, or 10 decibels above the ambient noise level, when measured at a distance of 50 feet from the source of the noise, or inside the nearest occupied residence in districts zoned R-1A, R-1B, R-2, R-3, or R-4.”
and inserting in its place:
“A noise shall not be considered a noise disturbance if it is made during noncommercial public speaking during the daytime and does not exceed the greater of 70 decibels, or 10 decibels above the ambient noise level, when measured at a distance of 50 feet from the source of the noise, or from the nearest occupied residence in districts zoned R-1A, R-1B, R-2, R-3, or R-4. A noise shall not be considered a noise disturbance if it is made during noncommercial public speaking during the daytime and does not exceed the greater of 80 decibels, or 10 decibels above the ambient noise level, when measured at a distance of 50 feet in all other zoned districts. Except as it may otherwise conflict with the provisions of this act, all measurements of noise levels shall be performed and verified by qualified inspectors of the Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs in accordance with the requirements specified in Chapter 29 of Title 20 of the District of Columbia Municipal Regulations.”
Rationale:
To accommodate the increased noise in downtown neighborhoods, a greater threshold is created for non-residential zoned districts. This provision guarantees, as a matter of right, that amplified noise downtown can be twice as loud as the noise around it, while also providing residential neighborhoods greater noise protections. In addition, this amendment clarifies the original intent of the legislation that the noise provisions be enforced properly and by trained and qualified DCRA inspectors, not Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) officers.
posted by Klav at 9:01 AM
1 Comments:
Hi David.
Great blog. I found you while googling neighborhood politics and came across a post of yours from may 2006 about noise. I wasn't looking for that but It is one of my pet peeves(SP) I started blogging 2 months ago and set up a 2nd blog last week it has the same format as yours. I thought I was at my site by mistake. My main site is mostly political theory. The other one is the political action wing lol, again it is political, but I try to keep the rhetoric down and focus on doing something about the problems we face locally, again be warned it is political. Your site has given me alot of food for thought. I love the freedom of this medium. If you visit my site. See the upper right for a link to my site which is formatted like yours. We in Muskegon in the city face the same basic problems as you in the Big City, just a smaller scale. I'm just learning the politics of getting things done on the local level. Keep up the good work I'll visit often.
Regards, Bob Carr aka, Live Dangerously Be A Conservative.
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