ACTION ALERT! VCPORA Noise Ordinance

[kmsoap]

Apparently, VCPORA and their friends aren’t satisfied with trying to bring Jackie Clarkson back to District C. They’re trying to push a new Noise Ordinance through the City Council under the cover of Christmas! It’s time to prove that we’re paying attention, that back room deals and fear mongering have no place in NOLA politics and that the cultural community can speak up for ourselves.

This Thursday, December 19th, the city council plans to consider a drastic new Noise Ordinance that throws away David Woolworth’s city-commissioned report and all of the work we have done over the past two-and-a-half years. This ordinance would make VCPORA’s radical, anti-music 7 Essential Points proposal into law and could silence the city of New Orleans.

More information on the MaCCNO website or facebook page

[Live Music NOLA]

Here is contact info for the 4 city council members listed as introducing the new noise ordinance draft tomorrow

- Jackie Clarkson (504) 658-1070 [email protected]
- Kristin Gisleson Palmer (504) 658-1030 [email protected]
- Cynthia Hedge-Morrell (504) 658-1040 [email protected]
- Stacy Head (504) 658-1060 [email protected]

Please contact these people and tell them not to introduce the new noise ordinance draft!

[funkkjunkie]

I shared this on facebook.
Long live live music!

[Gards]

I shared this on facebook.
Long live live music!

I agree and will lead an international charge on this a bit later on when it cools down a bit.

Lord Horror are you out there? Or are you still in mourning over your Cricket Combines, sub par performance so far?

[Ruby K]

Outta towners should call too ?

Here is contact info for the 4 city council members listed as introducing the new noise ordinance draft tomorrow

- Jackie Clarkson (504) 658-1070 [email protected]
- Kristin Gisleson Palmer (504) 658-1030 [email protected]
- Cynthia Hedge-Morrell (504) 658-1040 [email protected]
- Stacy Head (504) 658-1060 [email protected]

Please contact these people and tell them not to introduce the new noise ordinance draft!

[festbabe]

Outta towners should call too ?

Sure. Tell them you're a frequent visitor to the city (heck, tell them you have family here, your Threadhead family). This ordinance, if passed, will negatively effect the music and entertainment that is a vital part of the tourism industry and what draws you here.

[dee79]

Done. Thank you for the heads up.

[bennyboy]

Done. Thank you for the heads up.

Yep. I don't get crap like this. It is like lawmakers look around and say "hey how can we f&ck things up around here?" and then set out to do it.

[completejohn]

Just sent this to the city council emails listed above:

I know you have to listen to your constituents first and foremost, but sometimes government decisions can be much farther reaching. Case in point: the noise ordinance you are considering.

As someone who regularly visits and spends a large amount of money in your city, it scares me that some people are doing things that will keep me away. Anything that reduces my ability to see live music will directly affect the number of visits I will make in the future. If this noise ordinance goes into affect, and live music is diminished in any way, there are many other places I can travel to find it.

I spend my vacation money on music. Throughout the year I hit as many as 10 different music festivals. Being that there are literally hundreds of festivals every year, there are plenty of choices. For the last 13 years, I have chosen to make New Orleans my #1 destination. But other cities have already lost my business for various reasons (for example, I'll never go back to Austin for the ACLFest) , and changes in NOLA could affect your standing.

SOME of your constituents are doing what they can to make their lives better. I understand that. But some of them are asking you to make changes to situations that have existed for years, even before they moved into the affected neighborhoods. ( It would be like me moving into a house near the Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta and making sure that there is no noise before 10 am because balloons can be noisy, as can scared dogs!) But our city would never tolerate a campaign to restrict an event that brings in millions of dollars every year.

I'm just hoping you'll see that your noise ordinance affects more than just your constituents. It could also affect the flow of tourism dollars so necessary to your city.

[duende]

As a cautious (OK, suspicious and verging on conspiracy-theorist at times) citizen and regulatory employee, I'm well aware of the gerrymandering of committee and board calendars to quell adversity - I had to hop on a plane on Dec 23rd to attend a planning commission meeting on a Walmart superstore... they were not happy to see me - but I can't see anything about this item on the agenda for today's Council meeting. It does seem a little backward that the City scanned the document as an image and converted it to a PDF, making text searches a lot more difficult, but that's probably lack of tech rather than evil intent. Since the smoke has probably already cleared by now if the item was presented, do we have any government scholars here who know if New Orleans, or Louisiana, ever adopted the equivalent of California's Brown Act to provide for transparency in government meetings?


p.s. - A scientific evaluation of the NOLA noise ordinance issues from David Woolworth of Oxford Acoustics, Inc.:
http://www.nolacitycouncil.com/docs/...1-01883-01.pdf note: I did see Mr. Smith. Esq., as one of the contributors, so take the recommendations with an appropriately-sized block of salt.

[chopitulas]

Noise Ordinance

The way this was put through with no real opportunity for public discussion really irks me. Why music and the culture around it is not recognized as a HUGE part of why people come here AND SPEND MONEY is ridiculous to me. There was not a forum that included musicians and club owners to at least be able to speak from their viewpoint. Instead of finding a reasonable solution that recognized various sides of the story, the Council only listened to a group of FQ property owners. They didn't even listen to the well respected sound consultant they had hired! Such bullshit...

http://www.nola.com/politics/index.ssf/2013/12/new_orleans_city_council_intro.html

[chopitulas]

I mighta/shoulda posted the news about the Council's action here but I put it in a new thread...

[swag]

Councilwoman Palmer posts this to her Facebook page:

Over the last day, I have heard from many residents who have expressed concern about a sound ordinance that was introduced at today’s City Council meeting.

I want to be clear that, despite what you may have heard, the City Council did not vote on an ordinance dealing with sound at today’s meeting. Characterizations of the Council sneaking a law through during the holidays or orchestrating backroom deals are, in a word, false.

Rather, a proposal was introduced today in an attempt to offer a starting point for public consideration and discussion. The ordinance that was introduced today did not originate from my office, but I signed on to it because I support its intention: to carry on an important dialog and get us closer to a sound ordinance that is fair and objective.

As a Councilmember, I am deeply committed to following the proper legislative process, which includes numerous opportunities for public input and discussion. The proposal that was introduced today will be the subject of a public committee meeting, and if it comes before the Council for a vote, there will be an opportunity for public input at that time. Additionally, my staff and I will work—as we have thus far—with representatives from all segments of the community, including neighbors, businesses, musicians, sound experts, cultural groups, and others.

I support the “Seven Essential Items to Make New Orleans’ Noise Ordinance Fair and Functional,” which has received widespread support from all sections of the community and is significantly based on the Woolworth report that I commissioned. I have also been pleased by the work of community groups up to this point, including the Music and Culture Coalition of New Orleans, in reaching points of agreement among various communities. It is my desire and expectation that we will continue to work together to develop this proposal so that it is agreeable to the broad and diverse New Orleans community.

I am committed to protecting our vibrant and unique musical culture. I am also committed to protecting residents and visitors against unsafe sound levels and improving the city’s quality of life. These goals are not mutually exclusive, and I hope residents will continue to participate in the public conversation as we move forward.

https://www.facebook.com/kristin.gislesonpalmer/posts/484289621686931

[swag]

I mighta/shoulda posted the news about the Council's action here but I put it in a new thread...

I merged that for ya (now above,#11)

[chopitulas]

Thanks and I am glad for the clarification from Councilwoman Palmer. The article does say the Council had only "introduced" something...I assumed wrongly it was a done deal.