TRANSCRIPT via Amazon Transcribe
I'm Elise Cox and there are outtakes from KZYX News reporting.
The lead story of our Friday newscast is about a proposed noise ordinance for Mendocino County. Going forward. We'll cover the headlines in the newscast and then provide additional background in expanded news segments that will be available on the web and as part of the KZYX News podcast.
We won't do this for every story but for stories like the noise ordinance that are of high interest to our listeners, we will make an effort to provide different points of view in this podcast.
For the story on the proposed noise ordinance, I'd like to share three public comments that were made to the Board of Supervisors.
The first is from a representative of the Farm Bureau. While there was general agreement among the supervisors that the noise ordinance was necessary, there was also agreement that the ordinance should reflect Mendocino's rural nature. Farming can be noisy.
The second comment is from a long-term resident whose experience epitomizes the need for an ordinance. Charles Coleman has lived here 38 years. In the last two years, a conflict over noise has been exacerbated by the firing of semiautomatic pistols.
And the third comment is from another long-time resident who has seen the rural area around her become increasingly residential. She's in the opposite position of Charles Coleman with new neighbors coming in and complaining about her roosters.
And of course, all of these points of view are angles on a larger story. We are experiencing the consequences of unplanned residential development. The question is, what are we going to do about that, especially as more and more people want to move here to escape the blistering heat.
We'll start with the point of view of the farmers. My name is Jasmine Randall and I'm here with the Mendocino County Farm Bureau. We would like to commend the board's efforts to enhance the quality of life for residents throughout the this ordinance. We do believe that it's critical that agriculture, which plays a vital role in the economic and cultural fabric of our county, is properly protected within the framework of creating this ordinance. As we know, Mendocino County has long supported agricultural operations through the right to farm ordinance which was enacted to ensure that normal and routine farming activities are not compromised by the expansion of residential development or regulatory changes. This ordinance has proved a necessary safeguard for our farmers and ranchers within our membership who are already navigating numerous challenges such as shortages and labor, drought conditions and market fluctuations and increased regulatory challenges. Today, we respectfully request that the board include specific language within the proposed noise ordinance that acknowledges and upholds the protections afforded by the right to farm ordinance. Agriculture often involves activities that may generate noise such as operating machinery, managing livestock or performing necessary fieldwork at non-standard hours. It might also be beneficial for staff to indulge in looking into the noise ordinances proposed by other counties, which includes this verbiage, such as the Monterey County Noise Ordinance, which exempts agricultural practices. These practices are essential in maintaining the productivity and sustainability of our local farms and ranches and they should not be inadvertently restricted by new noise regulations. By incorporating this new protection. The county will reaffirm its commitment to supporting agriculture which is also balancing the needs of residents in non agricultural zones. We believe that this will not only avoid potential conflicts but will ensure a better relationship between the rural and urban communities. Thank you for your time and consideration and we look forward to working collaboratively with the board to ensure that the noise ordinance supports both the well being of the residents and the continued progress of our agricultural industry.”
Charles Coleman was someone who moved into an agricultural community almost four decades ago. He was a newcomer, now he's an old timer.
“Good morning chair and board and staff. My name is Charles Coleman. I live in Redwood Valley, lived in the same property for 38 years and I'm in support of the Farm Bureau side of things. In the first couple of months we were there in the spring. We thought aliens were landing because they came in to do the, the uh sulfuring in the middle of the night and all these lights are coming on. We fully realized that that is a part of, of being in an agriculture area. We've been in this house for 38 years in the last two or three years. There have been very, very loud parties. It's not like you're having a little party for your kid's birthday. These things will start sometimes at five in the afternoon and go till five in the morning and I'm being very truthful in this. Um, some of the neighbors have called and they said get some Fing ear plugs. Some of these neighbors are kind of scary. You hear them at night time shooting their semiautomatic pistols because they want you to know they're there, they want you to feel threatened by them. And quite frankly, we do. So getting here for me today is something just to say, I'm up here standing in front of you. I'm asking for support of getting noise ordinance started. I've talked with Supervisor McGourty probably a year and a year and a half ago to try and get this going on and it's pretty much the same people, about five people around us. But two of them are within 100 ft of my property line. One of them is almost a daily occasion. The other one and they'll go for maybe a month sometimes without a party, but then they'll go till 2:30 in the morning. I've called the sheriff's office. I was a 911 dispatcher with CAL FIRE 35 years with CAL FIRE. I understand going on to somebody's property to deal with the issues. They always had open arms when I got there because I'm putting out their fire. But when the sheriff's officers come along and tell them to turn the noise down, it's a different story. It really does not belong with building and planning. The people who are partying after hours needs to have somebody there with some authority to say, please turn it down. So when they have come because they haven't always been able to come because of their call volume when they've left 15 minutes later, it's twice as loud as it was. So we're being punished by calling in and asking them to turn it down. And so something needs to be done to control this. I'm totally good with the sounds of agriculture. That's not an issue. But if we were to put our property on the market, I believe by California law, I would have to disclose that noise. So now our property values are being diminished upon sale because we have to declare a noise issue in our, in our, in our neighborhood, our neighborhood, we're five acres. We're probably one of the larger parcels there. Most of the neighborhood parcels ware probably 2 to 5 acres. Probably a couple of them smaller than that. So what do you call a residential neighborhood? We have two residential houses on it. One of them is a rental. It's empty right now because of the noise and we're trying to get it rented again. But I'm gonna have to tell the person that rents it. Be aware, there's noise happening for parties here. So I really feel like we've kind of been left hanging out to dry. I thank you, Supervisor McGourty for what you have done to anybody else that's had their problems in their, their neighborhoods or their districts as well. It is a real problem. And so I hope we can get this addressed, and I really think the sheriff's office is probably the only place that it can go to. Thank you.”
Supervisor McGourty: “And, and just a quick comment on that issue too. It's, it's not just Redwood Valley. I mean, I, people have called me from south of Fort Bragg and complaining that there's vacation rentals where people come up to party and they're very noisy and it's very disruptive to everyone.”
Maureen Phillips is also an old timer, but she's in almost exactly the opposite position of Charles Coleman in that she's the one who's causing the noise or rather her roosters are.
“Good morning. My name is Maureen Phillips. I wasn't gonna speak, but I'm here to save my roosters. Donald and Richard deserve to have a happy [life]. They do crow, but I'm gonna call them my guardian roosters. When the skunk comes with the chicken coop, the roosters go off. When somebody comes in the yard, the roosters go off. If you stand by the chicken pen and try to talk on the phone, the roosters go off. They're not constant. I do have a problem with some neighbors that have barking dogs. You know what? You go over and talk to your neighbor. Unfortunately, I live down noise level of granite. And yes, they have worked mostly all night, all summer. They're doing their job. Do I enjoy it? No, but we need to figure out something and I was a little concerned with, um, what this young lady said about, uh, if you get a noise complaint and you get a citation and you go to fight it that you may be responsible for paying all the fees of everybody that the court costs and the deputies, if you have a vindictive neighbor that I may have one and they constantly call and you keep getting citations and you want to fight it is that then going to adversely affect your finances. That's a consern, not of super big concern, but it could be a concern. Can I live without my roosters? Absolutely.
But I really do enjoy them because they do get me up and I do get to yoga on time. So there's that. But anyways, thank you for all you're doing. I do know. So there's some parties. I don't have that particular problem in my neighborhood. So I guess I'm just lucky there's a few barking dogs but, and I am a downwind from like Mendicino Clubhouse and occasionally there's some parties, but they're very good about turning the music off at 10 o'clock at night. It's just I not like Charlie. Mine's occasional.”
Supervisor Williams: “Just some point of clarification. Hopefully. Um, I don't want to take your roosters away. I think the goal here is, um, if roosters at the, you know, crack of, of dawns are waking up the neighbors and it's allowed decibel, well, maybe they should be kept inside. Right. That means, see, some sort of mitigation. So I don't think anybody wants to take away, um, livestock or farm animals. It's just a matter of being good neighbors. Is that, do you think that's reasonable or do you have a suggestion for us?”
Maureen Phillilps: “Well, when you say inside, what do you suggest?”
Supervisor Williams: “Well, I don't know, whatever it takes to control it so that it's not crossing the property line. It's the sound of the particular animal because the animals inside an enclosed area with a, is it, is it impacting neighbors?”
Maureen Phillips: “They tell me they hear them. I don't, there's another one they talk to each other. I mean, and yes, sometimes like the other night, they were going off at three o'clock in the morning, four o'clock in the morning, five o'clock in the morning, but also where the neighbor's dogs were going off also. So the question was what was in the neighborhood?”
Ted Williams: “I, I think we're trying to avoid a situation where there's self help and giving law enforcement and code enforcement a tool to address some of these situations. But I just want to be clear. The goal is not to go after anybody's animals.”
Maureen Phillilps: “Well it's, it's hard to control a rooster. They, um, well, I mean, but imagine you're the neighbor and you're being woken up at three in the morning. I woke up at three in the morning. But I'm also being woke up by Granite. I'm being woke up by the neighbor that works at the lumber mill that goes to work at midnight. You know, I mean, there's just, there's just stuff, I mean, and I live in an area that's half acre acre lots. When I moved in that property in 1977 almost everybody had livestock. Now, the properties are being subdivided into two houses. It's getting more populated. So my neighborhood may be considered residential. but I mean, I get that not liberty enjoys them.”
The next step is for the noise ordinance to be drafted and then it will come back before the board of supervisors and you will have a chance to comment on it and to share your own stories. Please keep an eye on the KZYX social media sites. That's where we'll be letting you know when this issue is due before the board of supervisors again.
