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Neighbor says ATV noise is 'intolerable'
(by Sue Reid - June 16, 2010)
Neighbor says ATV noise is 'intolerable'
By SUE REID
Solon Police Chief Wayne Godzich discussed with City Council's safety and public properties committee last week concerns raised by a resident regarding disturbances by all-terrain vehicles and dirt bikes.
Sedge Circle resident Dale Grubb had appealed to Ward 1 Councilman Richard A. Bell, a member of the safety committee, about ATV and dirt-bike problems in his neighborhood.
"Tonight, the noise was so great that we had to talk loudly to each other over dinner," Mr. Grubb said in his correspondence to Mr. Bell. "We were serenaded by a chorus of three dirt bikes at once. I hope that there is something in Solon's city ordinances that can be used to curtail or eliminate this nuisance."
He made his appeal out of "desperation," Mr. Grubb said. "The amount of ATV-dirt-bike activity has increased during the past three years to a point where it is intolerable, compromising the quality of life for my family and my neighbors."
Mr. Godzich said there are ordinances to deal with noise violations. He cited a chapter that would address noise from a mobile source. It says that no person shall create a noise from a mobile source that exceeds 85 decibels at a distance equal to or greater then 50 feet from the closest point of the source.
Officers who take the reading would have to be 50 feet away from the vehicle, and, if the sound is more then 85 decibels, it's a violation. Violators would receive a citation, which is a third-degree misdemeanor, Assistant Chief Raymond J. Tittl said.
Mr. Godzich said officers can use a noise-measuring device to determine whether the levels described exceed the limitation.
Mr. Tittl said the city receives complaints in regards to ATVs and dirt bikes, but most involve people operating them on property that is not their own. Examples include railroad tracks and Cleveland Electric Illuminating Co. transmission lines, he said. "It is a violation in regards of trespassing."
In the case described by Mr. Grubb, the person is operating the ATV on his own property.
"There's no ordinance that would prevent someone from doing that," Mr. Tittl said. "The only law we can enforce is if, in fact, the noise from these vehicles is exceeding the 85 decibels."
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