St. Tammany Noise Ordinance.

Magdump said:

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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At whatever distance it is from the source of the sound to the complainant's dwelling. From the St Tammany Ordinances:
"(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 ordinance has nothing to do with the noise level coming from their speaker. It has to do with the noise level entering your ears.

Municode is your friend.

Very useful info. Thanks.

thperez1972 said:

At whatever distance it is from the source of the sound to the complainant's dwelling. From the St Tammany Ordinances:
"(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 ordinance has nothing to do with the noise level coming from their speaker. It has to do with the noise level entering your ears.

Municode is your friend.

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Correct. (I simply googled the parish and noise ordinance)
Other places specify at the property line. In public areas such as a city street the ordinance may state a defined distance from the noise or not.

Magdump said:

Correct.

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I know because I know how to use Municode and I read the ordinance before replying.

Magdump said:

(I simply googled the parish and noise ordinance)
Other places specify at the property line. In public areas such as a city street the ordinance may state a defined distance from the noise or not.

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When the property line is referenced, the concept is the same. The noise level at the source is irrelevant. The noise level upon reaching a public place is the important measurement. Most noise ordinances 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. When the source of the noise is a public location, unlike in the OP's scenario, the measurement is still rarely taken at the source of the noise.

thperez1972 said:

I know because I know how to use Municode and I read the ordinance before replying.



When the property line is referenced, the concept is the same. The noise level at the source is irrelevant. The noise level upon reaching a public place is the important measurement. Most noise ordinances 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. When the source of the noise is a public location, unlike in the OP's scenario, the measurement is still rarely taken at the source of the noise.

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My statement for reference:
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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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Gonna try once more without inciting another train wreck, then I’ll disappear from this thread. Let’s back up a bit. OP suggests taking sound level readings in an effort to have something tangible for responding LEO’s. Would a LEO use those results for official business? Of course not. They’d take their own readings. The OP just wants a number to impress upon the LEO why he’s concerned. I mentioned that he may want to be as close to the offender’s property as possible if he wants a reading that will garner enough attention from anyone. Therefore, a reading closer to the property line might be higher than one taken from his pillow or bathroom or front door. So I suggested if he’s taking a reading for something to lean on, he should be closer. Or simply embellish a bit, because he wants to give them a decibel reading that indeed breaks the Max allowed noise level. Especially based on the strong chance that the responding LEO’s may never pull out a dB meter in the first place. I’m not saying that in your haste to correct my statement or prove me wrong, you completely misinterpreted my statement. You simply added good info. Info I already knew and took into account when advising that the OP have a number that might break into the minimum that’s considered a nuisance or disturbing the peace if he wanted it to impress anyone responding. Hope we cleared that up. Carry on.

Magdump said:

My statement for reference:
——————————————
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
————————————————
Gonna try once more without inciting another train wreck, then I’ll disappear from this thread. Let’s back up a bit. OP suggests taking sound level readings in an effort to have something tangible for responding LEO’s. Would a LEO use those results for official business? Of course not. They’d take their own readings. The OP just wants a number to impress upon the LEO why he’s concerned. I mentioned that he may want to be as close to the offender’s property as possible if he wants a reading that will garner enough attention from anyone. Therefore, a reading closer to the property line might be higher than one taken from his pillow or bathroom or front door. So I suggested if he’s taking a reading for something to lean on, he should be closer. Or simply embellish a bit, because he wants to give them a decibel reading that indeed breaks the Max allowed noise level. Especially based on the strong chance that the responding LEO’s may never pull out a dB meter in the first place. I’m not saying that in your haste to correct my statement or prove me wrong, you completely misinterpreted my statement. You simply added good info. Info I already knew and took into account when advising that the OP have a number that might break into the minimum that’s considered a nuisance or disturbing the peace if he wanted it to impress anyone responding. Hope we cleared that up. Carry on.

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I understand you want to create a situation where the numbers are above the limit. As I said, your reading doesn't matter. When the LEO shows up and you tell them "look, they're breaking the noise ordinance" they might ask you where you took the measurement. When you indicate you took them at a point other than what is listed in the ordinance, they will assume you are inflating the number because the real number doesn't meet the requirements in the ordinance. From that point on, you've painted yourself as someone who has a beef and your complaint is now suspect. That's if they ask. They may just look at the meter and dismiss it. It's not their meter and they don't know when it's been last calibrated so they can't use the information it is providing. Breaking out a meter to show the cops is akin to saying "see, they broke the law, now go do your job." From a layperson's perspective, it's a good idea. From an LEO's perspective, it's a terrible idea. Nothing good will come from it. It will only hurt your cause.

Taking sound pressure measurements is a waste of time -beat cops unlikely to get real excited about taking a stand using a logarithmic quantity (decibel) as just cause for citation or even a verbal warning. I've been at the helm as front of house sound engineer and have had the "concert cops" standing alongside me with a measurement device they have less than zero understanding of, all the while insisting I was "pushing the envelope' (I was -haha). I know that trying to capture a sustained 60db reading with a garaged lunatic is highly unlikely -ain't happnin' cap'n. All that aside -we live in a society where people do not give two greasy craps about neighbors, community, civility. Those days appear to be long gone. The notion that one could "befriend" someone into adopting another, more "appropriate" lifestyle is wholly laughable. We've lived next door to the "trailer park" mentality for a decade. They party whenever they want to party. We've called cops, EPA, local "authorities", talked to them, been overly kind to them, blah f'n blah. My point is this -people are going to live the lives they want and the notion that we can have much influence on them is fairy tale, touchy feely meme material for dreamers. I've built an 8' overlapped board fence and lining a section with sound proof mat, putting rock wool insulation and double drywall with acoustic dampening in my wall facing them and removing the windows that face them. Yep, it'll cost plenty -good thing I can do it. It's the only long term remedy for MY piece of mind and it's my problem to figure out. I want my locals LEOs keeping the bad guys suppressed, I can deal with the drunks and f'tards. YMMV

foz1359 said:

Yep, it'll cost plenty -good thing I can do it. It's the only long term remedy for MY piece of mind and it's my problem to figure out. I want my locals LEOs keeping the bad guys suppressed, I can deal with the drunks and f'tards. YMMV

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I totally agree. I have been investing heavily in my peace off mind. I'm up to six acres. There is an acre for sale bordering my property but it is over priced at $45K It's next to my driveway and I'll have to gamble with passing that parcel up.

Years ago we would have band practice in my garage. My neighbors would come over and ask us to open the garage door so they could hear better.