Supervisors approve a compromise noise ordinance 5-0; residents remain pessimistic it will help.

A compromise noise ordinance was initially approved by a 5-0 vote of the Monterey County Board of Supervisors today, Tuesday, May 24, setting the stage for either a new era of enforcement or, as some residents fear, more of the same—with loud weekend parties disrupting the peace in rural areas.

If affirmed by the board in a second vote on June 21, the ordinance would go into effect the last weekend in July. It puts enforcement mainly in the hands of the Department of Housing and Community Development, instead of the Sheriff’s Department, although Sheriff’s Deputies would still be able to write citations. Those citations will become administrative instead of criminal, as the current ordinance is written.

Decibel limits will remain at a maximum of 85 in the daytime and 65 at night, with the nighttime cap beginning at 9pm and lasting until 7am.

The compromise came after the board discussed the ordinance two weeks ago, when supervisors asked for fines to be reduced and a requirement that on the first visit the offenders be given a warning only.

The ordinance before the supervisors today included the warning, and fines down from $500 the first time the decibel level is exceeded to $250 on the second visit by officials within a 24-hour period, and $1,000 on the third visit, down from the previously recommended $2,000.

Some residents who spoke to the supervisors today said warnings have never worked while the Sheriff’s Department has been in charge of enforcing the noise ordinance. They doubted the new ordinance will have any positive effect.

Meanwhile, a request by the supervisors for the staff to come back with recommendations for an ordinance dealing with larger, unruly parties and special events without permits was delayed until August.