At what time would you call cops to complain about a party?

[yorkietalkjilly]

My neighbors usually have one big blow-out or two at their children's birthdays and they go into the evening, even having a children's musical group, special lighting effects and mechanical rides, etc., but oddly, with their tall, wooden fence and maybe the way the winds blow, my doubled-paned back windows, it doesn't sound really, really loud and is usually over by 9 - 10 p.m.. I usually say nothing, put in earplugs, turn on my white noise, turn up the TV sound and direct it to just the corner where I am sitting, and let it go as it's all about the kids and the whole rest of the year they are angel neighbors. On the other hand, three-four years ago, some young people with a baby moved in across the street and after a few weeks, a visitor there had a car parked in their driveway with those horrible speakers booming loud that you could feel booming in your chest and after 15 or 20 minutes of that, even with my earplugs and white noise, I couldn't bear it any longer and I called the police and they came, stopped in front of that house and the music stopped. It happened again the night the Mavericks won the NBA Championship and after about 30 minutes of the same car with the same speakers and my vibrating sternum, I called the cops, who stopped it. Thankfully that family sold the house & moved this winter! I'm hoping a quiet family moves in there. The For Sale sign just went down. Gulp. You never know what the next family will be like.

[capt_noonie]

What's annoying is that this house has parties ALL the time. It's a rental house, so hopefully they won't be here too long, but before them was a group of frat guys. Shockingly, the people who live there now have WAY more parties than the frat guys ever did! They are not young kids. They are a family of all ages, with a huge family and lots of friends. They have so many people living there that they have to park across the street from our house (we are at the end of a cul de sac with no one directly across from us) bc there isn't enough room for their cars on the driveway and in front of the house.

So last night a few times I saw people walk to their cars. I thought they were going to leave. Nope they just sat in there for a while, and when opening their doors, a nice billow of smoke came out. Hmm. They are always having parties, leaving beer bottles and trash in front of everyone's houses.

When I called the cops last night they said someone else already called in to complain. when I checked this morning which house it was (they told me the address of who called it in) it was the neighbors directly next door. I don't think the cops actually went to the door bc by the time they showed up the garage was already down. I don't understand why people have parties in their garage. Why not inside where it's warm, or at least the back yard?

I checked the website and the noise ordanence is midnight for weekends. But when I called I asked, when can I start to call in to complain about noise? and she said if it's bothering me I can call. So I guess they aren't really strict about it, depending on if they have other calls that are more important. I think this house KNOWS the ordanence, that's why the garage goes down at the stroke of midnight and the strobe lights go off, but the party is still in full swing. Like they are doing it just to annoy us.

[brezofleur]

Do you know who the owners/landlords are to the house? If so, you can call/email them directly and make complaints.

Of course, the owners will be receiving notices if the police have to go out there too many times.

[yorkietalkjilly]

It is a pickle to complain to the higher ups and make real "noise" about neighbors' noise because if they are really trashy, you could come home to broken windows and running outdoor faucets, trashed flower beds and garbage dumped in the yard. I've heard of things like that happening. If you don't fear reprisals, you could write the Mayor, co-addressed to the Chief of Police, the Director of City Code Compliance, etc., and tell of your ongoing problems with the current residents of this home and their parties and how it inhibits your right to peaceful enjoyment and pleasure of your own home, lifestye and property, yadayadayada. Look up your city code and take the rights' wording right out of that. Ask if a code compliance officer can investigate this unremitting and harassing problem, and that you will work with that person to notify them once the loud noise starts, state that you have reams of video evidence while showing your watch to denote current time, if possible a newspaper showing the date or a dated contemporaneous news story on the computer and a live TV program in some of the footage to coordinate and help prove the time when the loud noise is happening, along with a journal of the times and nature of the excessive noise and lights for two weeks to support the video and sound evidence; and ask that they have a code compliance officer meet with the owner of the house and the current residents after the investigation to make them aware of the city codes and bring them into compliance. Be sure to state in your letter you are requesting anonymity to preserve your and your family's and home's safety. If you co-address the letter to enough people asking for help, it should get something done.

[capt_noonie]

You know what else? We got a notice from the city a few months ago about trash cans not stored in the correct place, a motorcycle blocking the sidewalk, and some dead grass. Guess what, almost all other neighbors have their trash cans out in plain view, but we get the fine. The motorcycle was in the sidewalk, but we are the LAST house and no one walks there. So it got moved over 5 ft where it's not on the side walk anymore LOL. The dead grass ok fine, but we're not the only ones for that also.

Then a few years ago, we got another notice saying we can't park our cars on the lawn (we only do that on street sweeping day). So MIL had the lawn taken out in the front and had concrete put in so we could park our cars NOT on the lawn for one day per week. After spending all the money to do that, we get another notice that we can't have that much concrete in the front, it has to be at least 50% grass. Again, many neighbors have more than 50% concrete, one even has NO grass. We still had grass on the side. So MIL had to pay even more money to have the brand new concrete taken out and put the grass back in. And get this, we don't live in a gated community or pay HOA, so why do we have to follow such rules when it seems like no one else has to?

[GuinnessStout]

Hmm something sounds fishy to me.. I don't work Cali loans anymore so I am slacking on the rules and guidelines for areas. I would NEVER live in a HOA because I know I sooo do not belong in one because damnit if I want to slack of mowing a month OR I want to plant a tree in the dead center of my yard I paid for that right

[yorkietalkjilly]

So you have to live my the very letter of the law but the others don't. Interesting. If I did write that letter, I believe I would point all of those issues out and ask why they can't ride some of the other neighbors for noise infractions and such!!! Really sounds like you are being a bit singled out for rules but not for relief from others that break noise codes. Boy, sometimes neighbors can be the biggest pain. I had a barking dog from next door that went on forever and made life just miserable but finally confronted the owner, got verbally jumped on but then all the barking stopped. Like totally stopped! Since then, wonderful peace! Too much noise can really make life at home very unliveable. Unless someone has gone through noise harassment that goes on and on, they just have no idea how bad it affects your life. I sure feel for you and hope you can get some help soon.

[celstu1]

My Dexter had the cops called on him once in the middle of the day! LOL

It was a holiday and we had a few people over, nothing major, Dexter is a nutcase when the kids are in the pool, running around it and barking his head off for HOURS. We try so hard to stop him but it's impossible. He just barks crazy all day! Neighbors called the cops! They came over and I went out front and didn't realize Dexter snuck out and followed me, I met the cop on the walkway and he told me the complaint of dogs barking all day for hours & hours and at that moment Dexter jumped up on his leg, all 6.5lbs of him and the cop knelt to pet him and I said "Thats the culprit, he goes nuts when the kids are in the pool and we try to quiet him but he wants nothing to do with that. I'll put him inside for awhile." The cop burst out laughing that such a tiny dog could make enough noise for hours on end to have someone call in a noise complaint. LOL Now we joke that when Dexter is barking in the pool area that he better be quiet or the cops will come take him away!!! This happened between 2 and 3 in the afternoon!