GET RID OF NOISE ORDINANCE | The Source Weekly - Bend, Oregon

GET RID OF NOISE ORDINANCE

The issue of enforcement of local noise ordinance won't go away, at least until we come up with a solution that makes more sense. Why not lessen the standards for local musicians instead? This is the issue as I see it. On one hand, we have a group of entertainers whose prosperity and success is vital to the life of our city. On the other hand, we have residents who have the right to live the quiet life that makes them happy. Or do they?
Largely, it concerns me that our law seems to be punitive-based where actual damage has not been done, or at least proved. Why give a handful of people the excessive power to punish local entrepreneurs for providing a service to other people willing to pay for that service? The enforcement of the present code is a waste of our police resource. It hurts the community. It hurts the artists and venues that are serving our community providing the entertainment we want here. Bend is a community that relies on visitors and residents supporting its music and arts culture. Some complaints can be resolved without penalty or financial pain. Some complaints just cannot be resolved period. Trains in the middle of the night, and loud trucks making deliveries, and the sounds of music and celebration and are a part of the experience of living in a city. We should accept this fact. Furthermore, it may be unpopular to say so, but we should recognize that some people abuse the process, and are less-than-reasonable people. They distract our police services from real crime. We need to classify these multiple calls as nuisance calls, and begin treating them as falsealarms. In conclusion, I believe that the City of Bend should consider having no noise ordinance at all.

—Rondo aka Ron Boozell

Candidate, Bend City Council Position 3

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