St. Tammany Noise Ordinance.

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  • paddle007

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    A friend is having an issue with his neighbor who plays occasionally plays music real loud and late into the night.
    We think the guy is bipolar. Lets call him Mr. BP He comes across as a miserable guy when not drinking and goes downhill when he drinks.
    My friend called the STPSO at 11:30PM on a week night as Mr. BP was outside of his mobile home, crashing things around, screaming and playing his music way to loud.
    After the deputies visited Mr. BP they spoke with my neighbor. The deputies mentioned something about his first admendment rights and there was not much they could do.
    I'm old enough to know there is always two sides of the story. In no way am I knocking the deputies.
    What is the noise ordinance in St. Tammany?
     

    DAVE_M

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    It’s easy to find. It’s the second search result on Google.

    Has your friend measured the sound levels? I would assume not. Max sound level at night is 60 dB.

    What did he expect the police to do?
     

    gwpercle

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    It might be better to take the other approach .
    Instead of repeatedly call the law down on him , maybe try to befriend him ... get to know him , let him get to know you ... sometimes they don't realize how loud they are or what time it is . I know it's fashionable to hammer guys like him down with brute force but my Dad always tried to kill them with kindness . He would go over and talk , bring extra stuff from his garden , talk kindly, do little things for him and treat the guy with some respect ... after awhile the "loud" neighbor stopped being troublesome and became friendly to us .
    Dad told me he always had better luck by extending an open hand in friendship rather than a clenched fist in anger ... If someone likes you they tend to want to do you no harm .
    May not be the popular way to resolve differences ... but it works for me and my Dad.
    Gary
     

    John_

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    60 db is normal two party face to face conversation.

    Dad told me he always had better luck by extending an open hand in friendship rather than a clenched fist in anger ... If someone likes you they tend to want to do you no harm .
    May not be the popular way to resolve differences ... but it works for me and my Dad.
    Gary

    Your father is a wise man. Many times I have to remind myself of that very principle of dealing with folks. Sometimes you just got to eat a little crow to keep the peace, and make things better in the end.
     
    Last edited:

    DAVE_M

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    60 db is normal two party face to face conversation.

    If you're having a face to face conversation.

    60 dB when you're a mile away is pretty loud wherever it's coming from.

    To determine the sound level, three readings will be taken at the complainant’s dwelling or structure and the mean of these readings will determine the actual decibel count.
     

    thperez1972

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    From the municipal code (which was the third result for me, not the second):

    Sec. 26-113. - Readings of dB(A) by zoning district.
    (a)An increase of ten dB(A) is allowed for impulsive sounds.
    (b)To determine the sound level, three readings will be taken at the complainant's dwelling or structure and the mean of these readings will determine the actual decibel count.


    The sustained noise level is what's measured. The "crashing things around" might be seen as impulsive noise, which has a higher maximum. And the cops would need to have a calibrated noise meter. They won't use a phone app because their phone then becomes evidence and can be requested by the defense attorney. Departments aren't going to buy enough noise meters for every officer or even every car. So if they have any, they're likely to be kept at the station. So any unit going to a noise complaint would need to either run by the station to pick it up or meet up with the last unit who used it. Both of those would increase the response time. Once they get there, they would have to take multiple measurement that would measure the noise level at that time but would not indicate the level when the call was made. So if the guy saw the cops pulling up and turned the music down, it would then be below the maximum.

    Noise ordinances are easy to define but difficult to enforce.
     

    Kraut

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    Noise ordinances are easy to define but difficult to enforce.

    Yep. Our agency has one decibel meter that resides in a closet at the station, and usually only gets broken out on repeated complaints. Then, someone has to know how to properly adjust it to the settings specified in the ordinance to get the correct reading. No one has seen the instruction manual in years, but it's fairly intuitive if you fiddle around with it a bit. Anyway, most of the time, you bring the repeated caller a copy of the noise ordinance filled with all kinds of audioscience jibber-jabber, take a reading which shows no violation, and, if it's a business like a nearby bar they're complaining about, refer them to their councilperson for further complaint.

    A casual visit for someone's loud party usually turns out alright, but the ones that are a pain are the neighborhood cranks that pick one specific target they don't like and wear 'em out with complaints. We had a guy living behind a bar that would constantly complain, it was usually not outside the legal limits, but he called all the time and someone would have to go check. He also called the chief, the mayor, his councilman, parish officials, he might have even called the FBI. The one time the bar had a back door open for a while and they were over the limit when we checked, we had no choice but to go summons the bartender managing that night (the owners were aware of the frequent complaints and had been warned of potential consequences), and the guy was just fired up and called even more frequently after that, convinced he was gonna shut 'em down. This guy was in a cul-de-sac, with numerous other homes within similar distance, but he was the only one that ever called, just had a bug up his butt about it. Another guy called about 0645, asking to speak to an officer about a noise complaint at his house, but he was already having breakfast at a local restaurant and wanted an officer to meet him there. The complaint was because his son, not a baby or toddler or even school-aged child, but a grown-ass 34 year old man, was sleeping at his house and the garbage truck had emptied the dumpster of the business behind his fence at 0550, a whole ten minutes before allowed by ordinance, and because he had somehow been involved with the drafting of the ordinance (by his claim), he knew that was outside of the limits for time for such activity. He called several times thereafter until an officer was close enough to locate the offending truck and summons the poor driver who was just out trying to make a buck at a crappy job. I even had to answer one in my own neighborhood about construction crews trying to get a jump on the summer heat by starting a little early, again just a short amount of time before 0600, when they were building some of the last homes in the neighborhood. I'd been on night shifts when we moved into our house, one of the first dozen built, and put up with all kinds of construction noise, and told the guy that his neighbors put up with the same when they were building HIS house. I mean, you know that's only a temporary thing, I just can't see how some people get their knickers in such a twist over things like that.

    Now that I've vented about detail-stickler, ornery cranks I've had to deal with, to address the perfectly reasonable, forward-thinking, advice-seeking "first-time caller" OP, as someone else suggested, maybe just make some casual, subtle approach next time you're both out near the fence or mailboxes. "Hey, everything OK over here the other night? I heard you yelling and cussing." That comes off like a concerned neighbor rather than a complaining one. An attempt at a civil resolution may work quicker and easier than sending the cops to his house. The guy above in the cul-de-sac never approached the bar owners himself, the guy with the dumpster issue never called the garbage company, the guy in my neighborhood didn't approach the on-site supervisor or go to the sales office that was still open at the front of the neighborhood. Nope, just called the cops looking to have the hammer dropped on someone.
     

    thperez1972

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    Yep. Our agency has one decibel meter that resides in a closet at the station, and usually only gets broken out on repeated complaints. Then, someone has to know how to properly adjust it to the settings specified in the ordinance to get the correct reading. No one has seen the instruction manual in years, but it's fairly intuitive if you fiddle around with it a bit. Anyway, most of the time, you bring the repeated caller a copy of the noise ordinance filled with all kinds of audioscience jibber-jabber, take a reading which shows no violation, and, if it's a business like a nearby bar they're complaining about, refer them to their councilperson for further complaint.

    A casual visit for someone's loud party usually turns out alright, but the ones that are a pain are the neighborhood cranks that pick one specific target they don't like and wear 'em out with complaints. We had a guy living behind a bar that would constantly complain, it was usually not outside the legal limits, but he called all the time and someone would have to go check. He also called the chief, the mayor, his councilman, parish officials, he might have even called the FBI. The one time the bar had a back door open for a while and they were over the limit when we checked, we had no choice but to go summons the bartender managing that night (the owners were aware of the frequent complaints and had been warned of potential consequences), and the guy was just fired up and called even more frequently after that, convinced he was gonna shut 'em down. This guy was in a cul-de-sac, with numerous other homes within similar distance, but he was the only one that ever called, just had a bug up his butt about it. Another guy called about 0645, asking to speak to an officer about a noise complaint at his house, but he was already having breakfast at a local restaurant and wanted an officer to meet him there. The complaint was because his son, not a baby or toddler or even school-aged child, but a grown-ass 34 year old man, was sleeping at his house and the garbage truck had emptied the dumpster of the business behind his fence at 0550, a whole ten minutes before allowed by ordinance, and because he had somehow been involved with the drafting of the ordinance (by his claim), he knew that was outside of the limits for time for such activity. He called several times thereafter until an officer was close enough to locate the offending truck and summons the poor driver who was just out trying to make a buck at a crappy job. I even had to answer one in my own neighborhood about construction crews trying to get a jump on the summer heat by starting a little early, again just a short amount of time before 0600, when they were building some of the last homes in the neighborhood. I'd been on night shifts when we moved into our house, one of the first dozen built, and put up with all kinds of construction noise, and told the guy that his neighbors put up with the same when they were building HIS house. I mean, you know that's only a temporary thing, I just can't see how some people get their knickers in such a twist over things like that.

    Now that I've vented about detail-stickler, ornery cranks I've had to deal with, to address the perfectly reasonable, forward-thinking, advice-seeking "first-time caller" OP, as someone else suggested, maybe just make some casual, subtle approach next time you're both out near the fence or mailboxes. "Hey, everything OK over here the other night? I heard you yelling and cussing." That comes off like a concerned neighbor rather than a complaining one. An attempt at a civil resolution may work quicker and easier than sending the cops to his house. The guy above in the cul-de-sac never approached the bar owners himself, the guy with the dumpster issue never called the garbage company, the guy in my neighborhood didn't approach the on-site supervisor or go to the sales office that was still open at the front of the neighborhood. Nope, just called the cops looking to have the hammer dropped on someone.

    The ordinance for the French Quarter lists the level as 10 decibels above the ambient noise level or 60 decibels, whichever is higher. It was common for people who recently moved in to call and place a noise complaint. Those calls did not get the highest priority. It usually sat in the stack until all the other calls were taken care of. There were many a morning when 5 hour old noise complaints were on the backlog for the day shift coming on at 7ish.
     

    Magdump

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    I’m wondering whether or not the guy lives within city limits of a township. Perhaps Folsom? If there’s an ordinance I doubt it would apply outside city limits. St. Tammany being a parish, I’m thinking there’s no noise ordinance that can cover an entire parish. That’s a city thing.
    The city of Hammond is a fine example. There are subdivisions that fall outside the Corp limit where you’d think it would be insane to fire a handgun in a backyard, but when reported and investigated, no laws were found to be broken.
     

    paddle007

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    Thanks for the input guys.
    This is unincorporated and seems to be a tolerant crowd. Huge fireworks and occasional gun shoots don't seem to bother people.
    This outstanding citizen has killed two of his neighbors pets. He had chickens and the pets were off leash. Nothing LEO could do about that.
    He was recently arrested for domestic abuse and there are two teenage boys in the residence. There was concern the noise was a cover but my friend had a visual on his shed and this seems to be a solo act. He does this on a semi regular basis.
    Mr. BP is just one of those miserable people who never smiles.
    It just feels like a time bomb with the situation and his neighbors are worried more about his family than themselves.
    But a good nights sleep would help also.
     

    paddle007

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    I think it is multi layered.
    Mr. BP was keeping them up. His backyard shed is pretty close to their home. His shed must be ground zero for his antics.
    It was 11:30 PM on a week night. Mr.BP was politely quiet after the LEO visit.
    This pattern will likely continue.
     

    cyclone1970

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    I think it is multi layered.
    Mr. BP was keeping them up. His backyard shed is pretty close to their home. His shed must be ground zero for his antics.
    It was 11:30 PM on a week night. Mr.BP was politely quiet after the LEO visit.
    This pattern will likely continue.


    I think in this particular case I would focus on the instability of the individual and not the noise itself.

    If noise at night is really the issue and local law supports noise limits, you should speak with the offender about the noise problems (if safe to do so) as has been said previously. If that doesn't solve the noise problems, then purchase a mid-priced decibel meter ($50-100), not a cheap one. Also do some reading regarding sound measurement.

    Your meter readings will not stand up in court but will help very much when dealing with the authorities. Also it will tell you when to "bother" them. Make complaints only when you get very high readings, not the nights where you get borderline readings. It helps greatly to get higher officials involved as the guy in the squad car probably has more serious issues to deal with. Expect to spend years to get resolution and quiet. I would only fight a noise battle if it were so terrible that everyone in the neighborhood was suffering, and over a long period of time. It takes a lot out of you to be successful, trust me I know.
     

    Gator 45/70

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    I think it is multi layered.
    Mr. BP was keeping them up. His backyard shed is pretty close to their home. His shed must be ground zero for his antics.
    It was 11:30 PM on a week night. Mr.BP was politely quiet after the LEO visit.
    This pattern will likely continue.

    We don't have enough information here,What sort of music does Mr. Pork Belly play...Or better yet,What music doesn't he like or dislike...

    You see where this is going don't ya?
     

    paddle007

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    I think in this particular case I would focus on the instability of the individual and not the noise itself.
    Bingo! I agree. The noise may be a door to monitor Mr. BP.
    My friend speaks with him and has never had a negative comment about Mr. BP. I know there has been other nonsense going on and my friend has never wanted "to get involved". My friends wife is a pepper and I think she is on him like a blowfly on a turd. Everybody looses in that circle.
    2020 has been quite a **** show my friends.
     

    paddle007

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    My stepson did that in college. His dorm neighbors were baseball players, loud music and parties late into the night.
    My stepson had to get up early and his speakers would get pushed against the wall playing classical music. They finally reached a truce. No blood was shed.
     

    Magdump

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    Unless you can get a dB reading close to the source you’ll likely get readings that aren’t considered above limits. Again, none of it applies unless the offender lives within city limits.
     
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    thperez1972

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    Unless you can get a dB reading close to the source you’ll likely get readings that aren’t considered above limits. Again, none of it applies unless the offender lives within city limits.

    And taking a reading close to the source does not apply unless the complainant lives close to the source. Most noise ordinances, including the one in St Tammany, are not designed to limit the level of noise at a location. They are designed to limit the level of noise you hear from that location. A neighbor who lives 3000 yards from you will be able to play music at a louder volume than a neighbor who lives 30 yards from you. The ordinance is not in place to control someone's behavior. It's designed to minimize the effect of that behavior on you.
     

    Magdump

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    If law enforcement were to take a sound level reading for the sake of enforcing an ordinance, at what distance from the source would they take a measurement?
     

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