Where to complain noisy neighbor?

[AsianTulsan]

My neighbor across the street have very loud music coming out of his car. It's a daily nuisance for me and my family. It's always in the mid-morning and evening time. My doors and window are vibrating due to his loud music blasting off and at times I think it will shatter one fine day.

My husband don't want to make much fuss by confronting him and we're only renters not home owners. He suggest that we call the police but I think the police won't do much help.

Can I refer this to the Mayor's office or do I need to call on DMV for help?

Anybody knows what sort of noise ordinance we got in Tulsa? Please advise.

[CoffeeBean]

See Title 27, Chapter 14, Section 1400 of the Tulsa City Ordinances, here.

quote:

SECTION 1400. NOISES
It shall be an offense for any person at any time to willfully or maliciously disturb
the public peace or quietude or the life, health, or safety of any individual in any manner, by creating any noise of such character or duration so as to be loud, disturbing, or
unnecessary, including but not limited to the following:

A. The sounding of a horn or signal device on any vehicle, except as a danger signal;

B. The playing of any radio, phonograph, or any musical instrument in any manner or in such volume, particularly during the hours between 11:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m., so as to annoy or disturb the quiet, comfort, or repose of any person in any dwelling, hotel, or other type of residence;

C. Singing, chanting, whistling, shouting, yelling, use of bullhorns, auto horns, sound amplification equipment, or other sound equipment at a volume that can be heard
inside any building or structure located on property occupied by a school, church,
hospital, or medical clinic during the regular business hours of such school, church,
hospital, or medical clinic, provided that such school, church, hospital, or medical clinic
posts a "Quiet Zone" sign on any public right-of-way or similar public access area in front
of or adjacent to any such building or structure, and posts the hours of operation near a public entrance of any such building or structure. This prohibition does not apply to
activities conducted by any such school, church, hospital, or medical clinic. Hospitals and medical clinics which operate on a twenty-four (24) hour basis are not required to post
regular business hours.

D. The allowing of habitual howling, yelping, barking or other annoyance by the owner, keeper, or possessor of any dog or animal;

E. The discharge of the exhaust of any internal combustion or motor vehicle, except through a muffler or other device which will effectively prevent loud or explosive noises therefrom;

F. The use of any mechanical device operated by compressed air, unless same is effectively muffled and reduced; and

G. The playing of musical instruments upon any street or public place without a written permit from the Mayor or his designee.
Ord. Nos. 20494, 20520

[apriltheimp]

The first paragraph of title 27, speaks for it all. Any disturbance, such as what your neighbor is doing, call the police and let them talk to your neighbor about the noise. There are no hours that allow anyone to disturb in such a manner. Usually, when the police are called, they will talk to your neighbor about the noise, and if if happens again, and you call the police they may ask you to sign a complaint. Usually, it only takes one time for the police to tell someone to turn it down, wheather you rent or own, you have rights too.

[MDepr2007]

Usually the people or car are gone when the police have the time to show up. They will not come out unless you agree to file a complaint. The officer who comes out will not pursue the complaint and you are left in the cold to wonder why you should bother calling tpd the next time.

It's enforced about as much as fireworks

[FOTD]

Code enforcement. But be fore warned, they are part of public diswerks so don't expect anything......

[Gaspar]

Go to Food Pyromid and purchase a whole catfish in the seafood department.  leave it in the butcher paper and place in his car on a hot summer day (I reccomend under the driver's seat).

He will spend far less time in his car playing loud music.

If he finds out it was you, just be polite and explain that every day he was kind enough to share his music with you, so you felt obliged to share a fish with him. []

If I'm outside at a restaurant or bar and someone with booming music drives by, I'm sure to throw food and/or drink.  If they're going to share, so am I.  

My mommy taught me to be polite.

[patric]

quote:Originally posted by Gaspar

If he finds out it was you, just be polite and explain that every day he was kind enough to share his music with you, so you felt obliged to share a fish with him. []

If he does find out it was you that complained, he can shine a floodlight right at your house all night and you have NO ordinance to fall on in that instance.
Lousy double-standard.

[Gaspar]

quote:Originally posted by patric

quote:Originally posted by Gaspar

If he finds out it was you, just be polite and explain that every day he was kind enough to share his music with you, so you felt obliged to share a fish with him. []

If he does find out it was you that complained, he can shine a floodlight right at your house all night and you have NO ordinance to fall on in that instance.
Lousy double-standard.

Actually, depending on the neighborhood, a small caveat was inserted into many neighborhood covenants. I have been making sure it is in all of ours.

All outdoor light fixtures in excess of 75 watts shall be fully shielded.  Fully shielded shall mean outdoor light fixtures shielded or constructed so that no light rays are emitted by the installed fixture at angles above the horizontal plane.  In addition, the bulb or other light-emitting component of the light fixture shall not extend beyond the shielding of the fixture.  Any structural part of the light fixture providing this shielding shall be permanently affixed to the light fixture.  Light trespass and glare into adjacent properties is prohibited.  

If it exists, it would be filed with the restrictive covenants.

[inteller]

quote:Originally posted by Gaspar

quote:Originally posted by patric

quote:Originally posted by Gaspar

If he finds out it was you, just be polite and explain that every day he was kind enough to share his music with you, so you felt obliged to share a fish with him. []

If he does find out it was you that complained, he can shine a floodlight right at your house all night and you have NO ordinance to fall on in that instance.
Lousy double-standard.

Actually, depending on the neighborhood, a small caveat was inserted into many neighborhood covenants. I have been making sure it is in all of ours.

All outdoor light fixtures in excess of 75 watts shall be fully shielded.  Fully shielded shall mean outdoor light fixtures shielded or constructed so that no light rays are emitted by the installed fixture at angles above the horizontal plane.  In addition, the bulb or other light-emitting component of the light fixture shall not extend beyond the shielding of the fixture.  Any structural part of the light fixture providing this shielding shall be permanently affixed to the light fixture.  Light trespass and glare into adjacent properties is prohibited.  

If it exists, it would be filed with the restrictive covenants.

yeah, but then the HOA has to enforce that.  you are going to drag a volunteer out in the middle of the night to enforce it?

I have a better idea, move out of the ghetto.

[Radar]

Why don't you stand in your yard and glare him down with your hands on your hips?

Dumb teenage boys are scared of us old ladies.

[patric]

quote:Originally posted by Gaspar

depending on the neighborhood, a small caveat was inserted into many neighborhood covenants. I have been making sure it is in all of ours.

All outdoor light fixtures in excess of 75 watts shall be fully shielded.  Fully shielded shall mean outdoor light fixtures shielded or constructed so that no light rays are emitted by the installed fixture at angles above the horizontal plane.  In addition, the bulb or other light-emitting component of the light fixture shall not extend beyond the shielding of the fixture.  Any structural part of the light fixture providing this shielding shall be permanently affixed to the light fixture.  Light trespass and glare into adjacent properties is prohibited.  

That's the first I have heard of that -- was there a coalition of HOA's behind this?
Sounds encouraging, but it has a fatal flaw...
"Watts" are not a measure of brightness.

75-Watts Incandescent is a porch light.
75-Watts Compact Fluorescent is a work light.
75-Watts Sodium is a full-blown street light in many communities.
They are all 75-Watts but very different intensities.

Now if the covenant said that "fixtures in excess of 1000 Lumens shall be fully shielded", it would be consistent enough to enforce.
"Lumens" are either printed on the lamp or the box, so you would know ahead of time if it were going to be in compliance (without having to resort to a light meter).  

To get back on track with this thread (sort of),
nuisance ordinances in Tulsa need to be not only consistent with regard to types of nuisances, but a bit more helpful in offering remedies.

In the past the only way to deal with loud music was to file a complaint once an officer  responded to your call, and in most cases an officer would not even be sent unless you agreed    to file in advance ("will file").

[zstyles]

Good luck calling the police...They will simply tell you they won't do anything about it unless you want to file a police report..I lived in little mexico for awhile and had a neighbor that loved to blast his heritage all over a quiet retired neigborhood after they moved in..the police never once would come out unless I would file a police report...but I did many of times go take matters into my own hand and video tape them, tell them to turn that S***T off...etc...they never did get the message or else were just to drunk to remember the last time I told them as the next week they were at it again!

[tim huntzinger]

quote:Originally posted by zstyles

Good luck calling the police...They will simply tell you they won't do anything about it unless you want to file a police report..I lived in little mexico for awhile and had a neighbor that loved to blast his heritage all over a quiet retired neigborhood after they moved in..the police never once would come out unless I would file a police report...but I did many of times go take matters into my own hand and video tape them, tell them to turn that S***T off...etc...they never did get the message or else were just to drunk to remember the last time I told them as the next week they were at it again!

And if'n you file a report the noisemakers will know who filed it and then you have the problem of retribution, and as we all know there is no protection for you then.

[EricP]

Seriously, why can people not talk to anyone about anything here? Have you tried ASKING them to turn it down?

And what are you doing in your house that requires dead silence in mid-morning or the evening, don't you have anything to do? They aren't doing it while you are sleeping.... which is the window of time in the noise ordinance, right?

Be friendly about it and go ask! Or quit being so bored and actually get something to do so you won't have to be concerned about what everyone ELSE is doing instead!

[zstyles]

You can only be friendly the first 20 times...