By Hector Gonzalez
Special to The Lookout

December 21, 2015 -- Santa Monica is taking yet another look at its noise ordinance, which was recently amended earlier this year, to ensure the revised law doesn't impinge on peoples' rights to loudly protest on public streets in commercial zones.

Unanimously approving by consent a motion by Gleam Davis and seconded by Sue Himmelrich, the Santa Monica City Council at its last meeting directed City Attorney Marsha Jones Moutrie to review the noise ordinance, which was amended this past February.

The amended ordinance made it unlawful to create noises or sounds that could “unreasonably disturb the peace, quiet and comfort of persons of normal sensitivity,” and also banned “prolonged” noises occurring at “unusual” times “as to cause physical discomfort” to the average person.

Davis last week said she wanted be sure the “ambiguity buried within” the language of the revision isn't overly interpreted by police acting on noise complaints.

“The revision of the statute allowed for a fair amount of discretion to the police officers when there were noise complaints,” said Davis. “There's been some concern about how it's being enforced.”

Council members want Moutrie to explore possible tweaks to the ordinance and come back with “alternatives for revisions to your ordinance which would better protect the exercise of first amendment rights in the street,” said the city attorney.

Adopted by the City in 2005 after four years of debate and much input from residents, Santa Monica's original noise ordinance set decibel level restrictions for certain areas and times of day. But much of it was replaced by the less-specific language in the amended ordinance.

The amendment law removed the decibel rules for public property and relies on ambient noise levels as one of the main factors in determining when violations occur.

Since it was passed, however, ambient noise in the City has increased, Moutrie said.

“The City has gotten noisier,” she told Council members.

Rather than restricting decibel levels, the amended noise ordinance set general standards of acceptable noise based on several factors, including the “intensity and duration of the noise,” whether the noise is constant or intermittent, and the proximity to “noise-sensitive land uses such as hospitals” or any other place “where a person might be sleeping.”

It exempted activities conducted on public or private school grounds, such as athletic and school entertainment events, community events and “activities conducted on public property that is generally open to the public, including but not limited to streets, sidewalks, alleys, parkways, parks, and beaches.”

The change was prompted by complaints, particularly from the ACLU after police in July ticketed protesters for violating the noise ordinance during a labor rally in front of a hotel.

Although the protesters had “made it impossible for hotel guests to sleep,” Moutrie said the Council voted to amend the law and adopted changes that “mirror” San Francisco's noise ordinance, which has withstood legal challenges.

Gleam said she now wants to make sure the amended ordinance is “not being applied unfairly,” and that people “who want to exercise their rights on public property in commercial areas are not unduly interfered with.”

Part of the reason it took so long to draft the original noise ordinance in 2005 had to do with the City's development. In many areas, commercial and residential properties combine in mixed-use developments, making it difficult to impose uniform standards.

“I know that in Santa Monica, in some areas defining a commercial area might be murky,” said Gleam.

Moutrie said it's possible to add language to the amended ordinance clarifying that noise rules were designed primarily for residential areas and less so for public and commercial areas.

“While you want particularly attention paid to preserving residential quietude, you're less concerned about commercial district,” Moutrie told the council.