SEATTLE CITY COUNCIL - Record No: CB 119277

• Record No: CB 119277
• Version: 2
• Council Bill No: CB 119277
• Type: Ordinance (Ord)
• Status: Passed
• Current Controlling Legislative Body: City Clerk
• On agenda: 6/18/2018
• Ordinance No: Ord 125602
• Title: AN ORDINANCE relating to noise control; establishing an alternative enforcement 75-foot standard for determining excessive vehicle noise; and amending Section 25.08.430 of the Seattle Municipal Code.
• Sponsors: Lisa Herbold
• Supporting documents: 1. Summary and Fiscal Note, 2. Central Staff Memo, 3. Proposed Amendment 1 (added; 6/18/18), 4. Signed Ordinance 125602, 5. Affidavit of Publication

Date	Ver.	Action By	Action	Result
6/22/2018	2	City Clerk	attested by City Clerk
6/22/2018	2	Mayor	returned
6/22/2018	2	Mayor	Signed
6/20/2018	2	City Clerk	submitted for Mayor's signature
6/18/2018	1	City Council	passed as amended	Pass
6/13/2018	1	Gender Equity, Safe Communities, New Americans, and Education Committee	pass	Pass
6/11/2018	1	City Council	referred
6/6/2018	1	Council President's Office	sent for review
6/5/2018	1	City Clerk	sent for review

CITY OF SEATTLE
ORDINANCE __________________
COUNCIL BILL __________________
title
AN ORDINANCE relating to noise control; establishing an alternative enforcement 75-foot standard for determining excessive vehicle noise; and amending Section 25.08.430 of the Seattle Municipal Code.

body
WHEREAS, excessive noise is a form of pollution that has direct and harmful effects upon the health and welfare of persons exposed to such sound and generally adversely affects the livability, peace, and comfort of the impacted neighborhoods and the City as a whole; and
WHEREAS, excessive noise is especially disruptive from motor vehicles, particularly when occurring in or near vehicular traffic, because it presents a distraction and danger to traffic safety; and
WHEREAS, excessive noise from motor vehicles occurring within the City's park system hinders the use and enjoyment of park areas by other park users, discourages many from utilizing certain park areas, and has caused said noise pollution harmful effects upon adjacent private properties, persons, and neighborhoods; and
WHEREAS, noise from motor vehicle audio equipment that can be clearly heard 75 feet or more from the source of the sound is in excess of the maximum permissible sound levels allowed to be generated or received in either residential or commercial areas of the City; and
WHEREAS, the City Council in 1989 passed Ordinance 114656, which enacted a 75-foot sound standard to address technology that had allowed the proliferation of commercially accessible types of audio equipment, both portable and installed in motor vehicles; and
WHEREAS, the Seattle Police Department (SPD) indicated in a memo dated March 16, 2018 that existing ordinances, technology, and operational prioritization have combined to make effective enforcement of excessive motor vehicle sound difficult; and
WHEREAS, Seattle Municipal Code Section 25.08.430 makes it unlawful for motor vehicle exhaust noise to exceed 95 decibels, but the noise must b...