Last month I wrote a post about the problems with the Downtown Noise Ordinance. It’s since found itself in front of Planning Commission who continued the item while City Hall has continued to twiddle their thumbs.
By way of an update I present to you D’vine from 01:15 this lovely Monday morning;
In case you’re confused that’s from Sunday night / Monday morning as Easter ended less than a few hours ago. Not even on this holiday can we get any peace.
I’m told that nothing can be done about this because something something reasons. Code Enforcement is, of course, closed and one cannot expect the police to do anything because they’re driving right by the noise (you can hear it from the Station) and ignoring it.
D’Vine was so loud they managed to wake one of my children up who of course woke me up which is why I am angrily typing about this issue at the moment.
Despite being half-awake I took a sound meter over there and the average weighted sound over a few minutes at their property line was over 100 dBA. In the alleyway down the way it was in the high-70s.
It was so loud owing to D’Vine having a live band playing and as I previously wrote, staff can’t even manage to close a goddamn door. Or two in this case.
See, every weekend the bars have been allowed to wreak this kind of havoc all while Code Enforcement does nothing. Literally nothing.
Personally I’d like to know why this is acceptable. I’d like to know why the City is building more and more hosing in Downtown while at the same time allowing this type of behavior to persist?
Of course those are mostly rhetorical questions.
It doesn’t matter that these bars are illegally masquerading as restaurants. It doesn’t matter that they’re in violation of their Conditional Use Permits (if they even have them). It doesn’t matter that Chief of Police after Chief of Police bestows favors upon the bars by rubber-stamping Entertainment Permits they aren’t qualified to posses.
It doesn’t matter that they’re bad neighbors.
It doesn’t matter because for years the member of City Council have refused to lift a finger in order to actually reign in this nonsense.
Hell, the last time this was in front of Council, member Shana Charles opined that she doesn’t think it’s loud enough in Downtown Fullerton because apparently she can’t hear it all the way over by CSUF in District 3.
I’m sure my child who got woken up will appreciate the Marie Antoinette caricature as I sing the following song in lullaby form;
Who needs sleep
(Well you're never gonna get it)
Who needs sleep
(Tell me what's that for)
Who needs sleep
(Be happy with what you're gettin')
(There's a guy whose been awake since the second world war)
“Who Needs Sleep?” by Barenaked Ladies
Planning Commission plans to go visit Downtown at some point before voting on how to handle this mess at the end of May and sending it on to Council. Until then I suppose we’ll be expected to find pleasure in insomnia.