Bothered by a barking dog, or woken up by a loud leaf blower? In West Sacramento, it’s the wild west when it comes to noise.
The city was founded 38 years ago but has never had a dedicated noise ordinance. Currently, noise-making activities fall under various general plan and public nuisance rules that also regulate things like overgrown weeds and illegal dumping.
“What we’re trying to do is consolidate all of that into one part of our municipal code, make it more predictable for folks to understand, and easier for enforcement opportunities,” said Tristan Osborn, the City of West Sacramento’s planning manager.
Now, the city is holding a series of workshops, asking for comments on what kinds of noisy activity should be banned or limited to certain hours.
Some people are bothered by loud traffic noise.
“They’re driving really fast down Jefferson,” said West Sacramento resident Lorri Trotter. “It keeps us up at night. It’s very disturbing.”
Others say weekend activities at the high school disturb the neighborhood.
“The sound is extremely loud, like I can’t have a conversation on my patio and the tournaments go on for sometimes as long as 12 hours,” said West Sacramento resident Greg Cain.
Some places in West Sacramento have actually been borrowing the City of Sacramento’s sound regulations, which are more specific and prohibit things like using leaf blowers before 7 a.m. or ones that are louder than 70 decibels and playing amplified music or other sounds that can be heard more than 100 feet away.
Now, West Sacramento is making its own effort to clearly shape the city’s future soundscape.
“We want to make sure that it’s a comfortable, enjoyable place for everyone to visit and work here in West Sacramento,” Osborn said.
The city is hoping to have a new noise plan in place by next fall. One thing it can’t regulate is all the noise from Caltrans freeway construction, which is controlled by the state.