Dr. Milo T. Pinkerton III ([info]doctorpinkerton) wrote,
@ 2009-06-06 21:40:00
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Current music:Black Math Experiment - 'Ology'

My response to the previous...
Thanks for all the good wishes everyone! I'm not taking this lying down. Here's my response to the letter from the city (see previous post.)




Dear sirs,

Having read the letter of complaint dated June 2, 2009, I have the following comments:

I have never resisted when asked to lower the volume of music at my home. However, it has been three years since a policeman visited to request the cessation of noise. The insulation in my home and garage walls is sufficient to keep my immediate neighbors from being bothered (yes, I asked.) Additionally, I have not been practicing music on a 'weekend' as described in the letter. My rehearsals have been confined to Monday nights between 7:30pm and 9:30pm. Perhaps the radio by my right-hand neighbor's poolside, or the other band which sometimes rehearses further up Huntly St. led to this confusion. But weekend disturbances were not my doing, and I resent being scapegoated.

A 'maximum permissible sound level' is mentioned but not delineated. What is the maximum sound pressure level permitted for the 'receiving land use category in Table 1'? As an audio hobbyist, I am very aware of the scientific measurement of sound pressure levels and can easily keep within permissible limits - if they are specified.

Please furnish me with figures to help me to comply with your request in a reasonable manner. Flatly telling me that I cannot practice music in my own home is NOT reasonable! Zoning doesn't dictate what I can or cannot do in the privacy of my home, especially given that music is a hobby to me, not a business. However, I am sensitive to noise complaints, would like to be a 'good neighbor' and am certainly willing to comply with the limits of the law, if you furnish the proper information on those limits.

P.S.: I did not receive any 'letter dated May 8, 2009' regarding this matter. To which address was that letter sent?

Regards,

etc.





My brother-in-law, who is an attorney, has told me that the letter was proper and respectful, BUT to wait to mail it until he has a word with a couple people... more news on this as it develops...

(10 comments) - (Post a new comment)


[info]emiofbrie
2009-06-07 03:04 am UTC (link)
Zoning doesn't dictate what I can or cannot do in the privacy of my home

Be careful with that statement....in many jurisdictions, zoning does exactly that. :( Tak, when she was a homeowner, ran into that quite a few times.

Edited at 2009-06-07 03:04 am UTC

(Reply to this) (Thread)

[info]amusingmuse
2009-06-07 03:43 am UTC (link)
Yes, unfortunately, this is too true. Home owners associations are also the same way, which is why we would not buy a house in one of those districts.

(Reply to this) (Parent)

[info]doctorpinkerton
2009-06-07 05:50 am UTC (link)
Hmmm... well, no homeowners' associations in this neighborhood, but the zoning thing is currently an open question. HOWEVER, this is a suburb in Louisiana, so it's probably more subject to 'good ol boy' politics than anything else.

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[info]tikibilly
2009-06-07 03:46 pm UTC (link)
Harahan is the epitome of 'good ol boy' politics. If your house was a few blocks west, this would have never happened. I still can't believe that I got a speeding ticket for 27 in a 25 on Colonial Club Dr. last year.

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Let me know (A.Rachnid here)
(Anonymous)
2009-06-07 10:45 pm UTC (link)
I wish I would have known about that. Those fuktards aren't supposed to be giving tickets for anything that isn't at least 5 MPH over the limit according to Cpt. Lamonte of the HPD. He is a very old good friend of mine. Situations such as that can probably be handled other ways.

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Re: Let me know (A.Rachnid here)
(Anonymous)
2009-06-07 10:55 pm UTC (link)
Hmmm, on the other hand, the speed limit on Colonial Club Dr. is 20MPH not 25MPH. I think this is a very archaic speed limit given the fact that that road is a major thouroghfare in Harahan. But it is also a residential neighborhood with a school on it as well.

p.s. most of the cops are still fuktards though :)

(Reply to this) (Parent)(Thread)
Re: Let me know (A.Rachnid here)
[info]tikibilly
2009-06-08 03:25 am UTC (link)
You're right, it was 20. I saw that earlier this afternoon on my way to Double M Feed. Although, when I got popped, I was almost positive it was 25. Of course, I was also hoping my Department of Defense sticker on my car would get me out of it. No such luck. Blah.

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[info]wildcard9
2009-06-07 03:43 am UTC (link)
Good responce, and I am glad you ran it by your brother in law before sending it. Please keep us informed on what is happening. It is possible that another house was the target of the complaint, not you.

(Reply to this) (Thread)

[info]doctorpinkerton
2009-06-07 05:54 am UTC (link)
I think it's several things, including my own transgressions, being lumped on me. Yes, we do rehearse on Monday nights and occasionally we do get carried away, SPL-wise. At the same time, I refuse to simply roll over & take the blame for everything mentioned in the letter, as it wasn't all my doing!

(Reply to this) (Parent)(Thread)
loopholes
(Anonymous)
2009-06-07 10:41 pm UTC (link)
A few years ago I got popped for having a fire pit on my lawn, turns out you can have a fire as long as you're using it to cook something, so i've been barbecuing the same hotdog every saturday since 2007, and the cops leave me alone. Maybe some similar loophole could be found for COG practice. Also this may be partially my fault, I was testing a spray that repels buerecrats and roaches the other day and it may have driven a few south, If the ones plaguing you are of the NY variety (you can tell by the necktie) let me know and I'll send you a trap. Prof M.W. Barnhouse

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