City Plans Crackdown on Noisemakers

By Allison Jarrell, Special to the Independent

After receiving updateson steps the city of Laguna Beach has taken to reduce traffic congestion, the City Council also decided Tuesday to look into a kindred topic, cracking down on excessive motorcycle and vehicle noise.

Seventy-five motorcycles cruising Coast Highway on Sunday, April 15, made a big impression on Council member Toni Iseman.

“I would like every entrance in town to have a permanent sign that says we enforce our noise ordinance,” Iseman said, adding that violators should be issued a $250 fine rather than a fix-it ticket due to the noise and pollution they bring. “I would love to have people complain about it’s too quiet in Laguna,” Iseman said. “This would, for me, be a real start.”

Council member Rob Zur Schmiede agreed with Iseman about the noise.

“It’s not just motorcycles. It’s these really high-end, souped-up sports cars that are ear-splittingly loud,” Zur Schmiede said. He suggested seeking comparison information from other cities and law enforcement agencies about how they combat the noise.

While no formal vote was taken, the Council gave direction to staff to return with options for addressing excessive motorcycle and vehicular noise in town.

Mayor Kelly Boyd disagreed with Iseman’s suggestion to erect warning signs about excessive noise enforcement. “We have gone so overboard with signs in this community now, it bothers me a lot,” Boyd said. “All the signage I think is really hurting our community.”

“I think we have some real sign pollution, and that’s true, but I think if we’re going to enforce this, we have to have the signage,” Iseman countered.

City Manager John Pietig suggested staff bring back an array of options for the Council to consider. Pietig said there may be enforcement strategies that could prove more effective than signage.

Discussion over a possible noise crackdown followed a presentation by Assistant City Manager Christa Johnson about the outcome of suggestions to lessen traffic congestion, which were offered last August also by Iseman.

Iseman had proposed restricting commercial food and beverage delivery to certain times of day, imposing graduated parking fines to match violations, addressing various construction staging issues, and considering the prohibition of left turns on Coast Highway unless a turn pocket exists.

The police department has since August been actively enforcing parking laws to ensure that delivery trucks are not blocking lanes on Coast Highway. Johnson said staff is still researching the feasibility of restricting deliveries to certain times.

City staff has attempted to help motorists easily spot parking slots by extending “T” markings on more than 2,500 spaces on city-owned streets over the last few years, with a recent focus on Diamond Street, Summit Way and Summit Place. Johnson reported that staff is looking into the feasibility of extending parking T’s to 1,150 spaces along Laguna Canyon Road and Coast Highway.

She reminded council members of a package of traffic improvementsapproved last month between Broadway and Legion Streets, and a decision to hike parking citation fines to $64 from $43 for safety violations. The new fines go into effect on May 10.

Johnson said city staff will report back on any progress made on Iseman’s other suggestions.

“Oftentimes it’s a little change that makes things better, and an accumulation of little changes can really have a big impact,” Iseman said.