POLICE GET POWER TO CITE NOISEMAKERS PRIOR TO COMPLAINT : MUSICIANS SAY NEW RULE IS OFF KEY.Byline: Christopher Noxon Daily News Staff Writer Neighborhood musicians protested a law passed by the county Board of Supervisors The examples and perspective in this article or section may represent an unduly geographically limited view of the subject. Please [ improve this article] or discuss the issue on the talk page. The Board of Supervisors is the body governing counties in the U.S. on Tuesday designed to quiet nighttime noisemakers. The new ordinance, which applies to residential neighborhoods in unincorporated areas of the county, makes it illegal to make ``loud or raucous rau·cous adj. 1. Rough-sounding and harsh: raucous laughter. 2. Boisterous and disorderly: "the raucous give and take of American democracy" noise'' between 9 p.m. and 7 a.m. Modeled after a similar ordinance in Thousand Oaks Thousand Oaks, residential city (1990 pop. 104,352), Ventura co., S Calif., in a farm area; inc. 1964. Avocados, citrus, vegetables, strawberries, and nursery products are grown. , it gives police the power to cite offenders even if no one complains. The law was designed, said county Resource Manager Tom Berg, to close a loophole An omission or Ambiguity in a legal document that allows the intent of the document to be evaded. Loopholes come into being through the passage of statutes, the enactment of regulations, the drafting of contracts or the decisions of courts. in existing criminal law. ``If a person suffering from excessive noise is not willing to sign a complaint, there's nothing police can do,'' said Berg. ``This gives police another tool to deal with those situations.'' But musicians said Tuesday that the law ignores their rights while putting too much power in the hands of police. Scott Everts Everts may refer to:
``They haven't even thought about us,'' Everts said. ``Music comes from practice, hard work and determination. Now they want to rip that away because a police officer doesn't like the sound of it.'' Everts said he practices two or three times a week in a room insulated in·su·late tr.v. in·su·lat·ed, in·su·lat·ing, in·su·lates 1. To cause to be in a detached or isolated position. See Synonyms at isolate. 2. with sound-absorbing foam rubber foam rubber n. A light firm spongy rubber made by beating air into latex and then curing it. Foam rubber has a wide range of uses including upholstery and insulation. Noun 1. . He said he usually stops playing by 8 p.m., but shouldn't be forced to stop at 9 p.m. ``A lot of musicians have other jobs to support themselves and don't get home until late,'' Everts said. ``They work out agreements with their neighbors who say it's OK. Now the police have the power to put their ear up to the door and fine them. That's wrong.'' But county Supervisor Frank Schillo, who introduced the law after he was personally bothered by a neighborhood garage band, said something had to be done to protect people annoyed by drummers, disc jockeys and others who crank up crank 1 n. 1. A device for transmitting rotary motion, consisting of a handle or arm attached at right angles to a shaft. 2. A clever turn of speech; a verbal conceit: quips and cranks. the noise too high. ``When you get home from work, the banging of drums can really get to you,'' he said. ``That kind of noise shouldn't be in a neighborhood - drums belong in the teen center.'' To musicians like Everts, the position dismisses a legitimate form of expression. ``It's probably not the most pleasant sound in the world,'' he said. ``But it's a passion and an art that needs to be respected. If people in the neighborhood are OK with it, I don't see why police or politics have to get involved at all.'' |
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