Huge fines, jail time for making noise in Richland
RICHLAND, Wash. - Tim Thornton told KEPR he could end up in jail now that he's a convicted noise violator.
"It's illegal unless I want to go to jail for a year and pay $5,000 in fines, I can't play my music," he said.
Tim's dreams of becoming an artist are all but gone. Richland revised its public nuisance noise ordinance just last month. It is now misdemeanor crime to make excessive noise.
If you can be heard from 50-feet away you could get a ticket.
This is what happened to Tim. He was slapped with a $338 ticket and probation for two years.
"It's not fun at all."
Tim and his friends rely on playing in a band as part of their livelihood.
"I take home a few hundred dollars, that's my supplemental income. I need that to get by," said roommate Wes Richardson.
We took Tim's concerns to Richland's legal department.
We asked, "Is this a bit extreme or was the ordinance designed to be able to impose penalties like this?"
Tami Bunker, legal assistant to Richland's City Attorney said, "The public noise nuisance ordinance was always there and it was always a crime. What we did was adjusted it a little but for situations that over the years we could not handle, we could not fit into the mold that still allowed all the neighborhood to enjoy their own backyards, etc."
Richland says Tim is being held to the same standard as everyone else will be. He and his bandmates tried sound proofing their house. They also notified neighbors of practice hours. Nothing seemed to work.
Since Tim went to court last week all noise has stop.
"If I can't be at practice, it's like not being able to work out for the iron man for a year," Tim said. The ticket has silenced his dreams of a music career.
Richland did take public feedback before shoring up the rules. Tim actually attended the meeting to make himself aware of what was to come. He also took the time to address city council with his concerns.
The changes after a big rise in noise complaints. The city used to average a dozen a week but that's tripled pacing to be more than 2000 calls in a year.
"It's illegal unless I want to go to jail for a year and pay $5,000 in fines, I can't play my music," he said.
Tim's dreams of becoming an artist are all but gone. Richland revised its public nuisance noise ordinance just last month. It is now misdemeanor crime to make excessive noise.
If you can be heard from 50-feet away you could get a ticket.
This is what happened to Tim. He was slapped with a $338 ticket and probation for two years.
"It's not fun at all."
Tim and his friends rely on playing in a band as part of their livelihood.
"I take home a few hundred dollars, that's my supplemental income. I need that to get by," said roommate Wes Richardson.
We took Tim's concerns to Richland's legal department.
We asked, "Is this a bit extreme or was the ordinance designed to be able to impose penalties like this?"
Tami Bunker, legal assistant to Richland's City Attorney said, "The public noise nuisance ordinance was always there and it was always a crime. What we did was adjusted it a little but for situations that over the years we could not handle, we could not fit into the mold that still allowed all the neighborhood to enjoy their own backyards, etc."
Richland says Tim is being held to the same standard as everyone else will be. He and his bandmates tried sound proofing their house. They also notified neighbors of practice hours. Nothing seemed to work.
Since Tim went to court last week all noise has stop.
"If I can't be at practice, it's like not being able to work out for the iron man for a year," Tim said. The ticket has silenced his dreams of a music career.
Richland did take public feedback before shoring up the rules. Tim actually attended the meeting to make himself aware of what was to come. He also took the time to address city council with his concerns.
The changes after a big rise in noise complaints. The city used to average a dozen a week but that's tripled pacing to be more than 2000 calls in a year.
It is clear that the City of Richland wants more money, and this is just another avenue toward more revenue. But IMO, it is absolutley underhanded and completely ridiculous. Long Live Music!!! Everywhere but Riichland, where I thankfully DO NOT live, will never live, have never lived and feel sorry for the musicians who do live....just kills me
The only way that this law will be changed is if there is continued, visible, negative effect on the city of Richland.  I think someone should organize a boycott of all live music being played at Richland establishments.  All bands that currently play at businesses in Richland should immediately stop.  The city of Richland has made it clear with this ordinance that they have no use for live music, and this boycott could spur enough business leaders to pressure the city to change this stupid law.
Not a great surprise to have such an overhanded response from City of Richland, and applied in such an underhanded way (quietly change the ordinance and not give the kid a warning, just throw the book at him).  Richland is probably the most conservative town, in what has been documented as the most conservative county in the state.  And when I say this I mean neo-con, not traditional conservatives.  The traditional ones are the minority now.  Remember them (fiscal responsibility, self reliance, keep out of people's bedrooms and business).  These neo-cons, including Richland city fathers)  want to be in your business.  It is clear that noise is not the issue.  It is the TYPE of noise.  They exempt noise they like, noise they make, or noise that makes them $$$.  It is clear that the backward thinking city fathers don't like the TYPE of music that this band plays.  I can hear Live at Five from 2 miles away like it was next door, same with Jackson's parking lot parties, Town Crier July Fest, air show, etc. etc.  The difference is not the noise, it is these activities make $$ for the city and area, Tim only makes music, and it is a style of music the city fathers don't like, so they send the stormtroopers, no warning,
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After the ticket is issued the Neanderthal city attorney makes overhanded threats to do much much worse to Tim (YES even worse than the $400 in fines and 2 years probation for first offence petty NOISE violation????) if he just does not roll over and accept the unfair coerced plea deal.  Poor kid can't spend 20 days in jail for simply first noise violation, so he has to take the coerced deal under threat.  He could have fought it and probably gotten a lower fine, but the city attorney threatened him that he better not dare to fight it (i.e., threatened Tim to not exercise his rights??? - sounds a little Soviet doesn't it).  So to end the ramble, yes this is very heavy handed, very backward, but in the City of Richland, pretty much expected. Â
this is ridiculous, frivilous ....I have been playing music in richland all my life 30 plus years and to think that the city needs a revenue source by taking it out on Musicians ....Does this meen that The city of Richland can go give tickets to the Richlad High school band for playing at a football game ..I guess when the football season comes I will have to call and complain that the noise is too loud because I can here it up at seven eleven on Dupertail and wright street . These elected officials are acting as though they are socialist and need voted out . Oh maybe they have forgotten who they work for ?????????
This makes me embarrassed to be a resident of Richland. The lack of logic and level of fine reflects a painfully egregious error in judgment and I certainly would like to think our local law enforcement possesses a bit more honor than this reflects. It's time for all of us to attend city council meetings and write letters to the Herald relentlessly. We have to get involved to make a difference- not just talk, but DO, people!
Being the parent of a Hanford high school student...this obscene "50-foot" ordinace means ALL of the  school bands will no longer be able to be enjoyed while practicing for football games, heck---they will not be able to perform at football games!!! Richland HS will suffer too...as well as middle schools and any other student school-related  bands. No more "Live at 5" in John Dam Plaza in Richland!! That is CRUEL!!! This will also mean no more movies in the park...again in John Dam Plaza. Then all the kids in PE classes and have recess times will have to be quiet too. Are you REALLY going to go to all the schools and announce to them they cannot make noise outside? What about the person who is being "ATTACKED" and NEEDS to SCREAM for help so someone HEARS them!!!??? you guys are nuts...check yourself.
 @People please..... To be fair, John Dam Plaza is in a commercial zone which has different rules. I also believe they still need a permit for that as well. Also one of the subsections of the new ordinance seems to say schools can make as much noise as they like, provided there isn't a "quiet zone" sign on an adjoining street.Not to shut down your fervor, just gotta keep it on track. What this new ordinance does is make it so your child can't practice their instrument at home, in your living room. Depending on the kind of instrument and the mood of your neighbors, your child may not be able to do the required practice for band class. They may not be able to pursue a beneficial and respectable hobby. Furthermore, if your kid pulls a dumbass move (as many of us have in our lives) they could get YOU in jail. First offense is punishable by $700 and up to 20 days in jail, and it applies to the property owner (you or your spouse). Say you go on vacation and your kids have some friends over and they blast the stereo, you could go to jail for that...and potentially lose your job too (not many employers will stick with you through 20 days of unexpected jail).While there will still be "Live at 5", the bands that play will have been unable to practice. Their playing will suffer, and the quality of entertainment will decline -- unless Richland "outsources" and hires out of town bands. Our school bands will likewise suffer as their musical potential is squandered. There isn't enough time in class to accomplish anything meaningful, practice is everything.Â
We are all aware that Music helps young people in many, many ways right? I mean it IS a documented fact that students who also participate in music classes of some sort are better off in math as well as other classes because of it. Â Why would you want to completely shut down the creative process for so many people. Especially considering that most musicians are struggling to just buy instruments and such and don't have extra money to rent a practice space. And really, why should they have to? Nobody is saying that the neighbors don't have a right to peace and quiet but don't the musicians also have a right to the "pursuit of happiness"? Why shouldn't they be able to play in their own homes as long as they are respectful and not blaring loud all night? Come on people be reasonable!
Pretty sure we all want and deserve to know what's going on regarding these noise ordinance laws that are changing without us being informed. I, personally, am an advocate for local music. I think there are a lot worse activities out there that the people of our city could be participating in that we should actually be worried about. Much above playing music too loud. It seems the people that are trying to follow the laws aren't being given the information they need, and are being harassed for it. How's that fair? Please keep us posted on what we need to do to be within the laws and be heard out.
People should also take into consideration the potential hardship placed upon any and all musicians who have low to moderate incomes, to the potential effect of undue financial burden, as anyone desiring to learn music at home may be forced to rent/lease space in a studio or other similar space lest they be charged with a crime...
    For learning and/or practicing music for educational, career, or personal pursuits and goals...
I am not sure about said burden with regards to music (save those taking school classes, and MUST practice as part of their curriculum), but, according to Washington State and United States Constitutional Law : (1) (regarding religious practices) state agencies/offices may not place undue financial burden upon said spiritual wants, and where concerns are raised, must CLEARLY and DEFINITIVELY show cause for said measures, otherwise the policy/ordinance/stipulation (and etc.) MUST yield, by State and United States Constitutional Law, and: (2) must allow the practitioner the ability to exercise said practices in the LEAST RESTRICTIVE MANNER possible where concerns are proven and valid!
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Interesting food for thought about, reflection upon, and study of our State and United States Constitutional Laws...
What would Nate Mendel, the bassist of Foo Fighters, who attended Hanford High in Richland, have to say about this? I bet we could get him to help us protest this atrocity.
 @Aaron Mckinney You should track him down online and inform him!
I live more than 50 feet from Richland High School, Christ the King School, Kadlec Hospital and the railroad tracks. Inside my home I can hear trains, the high school band when they practice outside and also at the games, along with the visiting school's band and crowd noise from inside my home during RHS and Hanford High home football games, also heard are all the activities at Sausage Fest and helicopters delivering patients to Kadlec. I assume the city now has the garbage trucks muffled to comply with this new 50 foot noise ordinance. This new ordinance will now make Friday nights a lot quieter in my neighborhood.
 @Tom Pell I bet your Friday noise won't change a bit.  This ordinance is specifically designed to target musicians playing at home.  The City-condoned noise will continue as scheduled.
I am completely sickened and appalled by this law. I am a musician who obeys the law, the former law that allowed anyone to make whatever noise they wanted until 9pm. That is reasonable to me, every night at exactly 9pm me and my band would stop practicing. what's so wrong with that? This is discrimination!!! What are we going to do about this? I want to participate in some sort of petition or protest to get this new injustice abolished! I can't live in a town with this law. I will never raise my children in a town with a law like that. If someone ever calls the cops on me for playing music. I will spend every spare minute calling in complaints about people mowing lawns, doing construction, the garbage truck, church bells, EVERYTHING. because you can't discriminate noise.
This couldn't get any more ridiculous. Seriously? 2 years probation and possible Jail time for practicing music in your own home? Sounds pretty unconstitutional and just messed up to me. As a musician this new ordnance pisses me off.Â
I'd like to point out that we were told for a single violation, possible even your FIRST violation, you can get up to 20 days in jail and up to $700 in fines. Something like that could not only cost you your job and your home, but it could potentially make it tougher to find employment in the future too.Â
This breaks my heart for my boys!! they are up & coming musicians and they WILL be successful!! but they are afraid to practice!!
I'm all for being able to complain about the loud drunk drug addict that lives behind me when she does on her rants at 4am!! OUTSIDE or the loud party at 1am when we can hear in our house a block away!!Â
BUT NOT the noise going on during the day that you can hear driving by!! IT'S wrong.
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but here we go again. Changing things for the 1 despite the masses!! Just the Smoovie Movies in the park.
Wasn't Bunker herself arrested for loud drunken behaviour a year or two ago?
Way to go Richland!
No more Sausagefest!
No more concerts by the federal building!
And the BEST! No more construction!!!!
For a town that does not offer sufficient outlets and resources for our creative youth and local musicians alike, to try and pin them down in their own homes is horrendous. Not everyone  wants to sit in silence and spend their lives in the service industry and going  to 'quilt club' and 'basket weavers anonymous' in their free time. Some want more! As far as I'm concerned this like trying to silence musicians, purposefully or not. Surely there is more the city of Richland focus on to better the community instead of cutting off what people have worked so hard for.  I've been incredibly fortunate to have been so close to the music scene there, considering I was never in a band myself. But I promoted. I spent hours upon hours promoting local shows, helping my friends out in whichever way possible, sorting out gig flyers for them. Im blessed with amazing parents that gladly opened our home to them if they needed somewhere to practice, even to bands from out of town that needed rehersal space. I am blessed to be such good friends with people who are trying to do something so big and inspirational for themselves and it really kills me to see them getting penalized for fulfilling a healthy, harmless, creative outlet as simple as practicing in their own homes to form a a better future for themselves. Unfortunately, though it's an easy thing for people to moan about. Maybe this is being looked at wrong. Maybe the people calling in the complaints and the ones creating these rules need to look at their lives and figure out and revisit some dreams of their own. These people have them, they're doing what they can to fulfill them, it's not fair to take things like that away from someone. As kids we were asked what we wanted to be when we grew up and we'd say race car drivers, princesses, astronauts, superheroes and musicians etc(obviously some more realistic than others)Then when we get older we find ourselves flipping burgers, and doing the dirty work at old peoples homes. Some people are quite happy with those jobs, then there are still the ones that are still set out to do something big just as they wanted to when they were little. It's refreshing to know there are still people who aspire to do something so great, to work for something so awesome. By cutting them off in their own homes and labeling them as criminals is really just an awful thing to do. I hope the city of Richland knows that it's things like this that are driving people away from there, causing people to dislike that town, regardless of technical statistics. Killing dreams ,one dollar at a time.Â
Well this is absolutely ridiculous... As a musician I can not believe how selfish,rude and un-sensitive people are in this city. Sense the law states "If you can be heard from 50-feet away you could get a ticket", Everyone should probably stop mowing there yards, having BBQ's, allowing your children to play outdoors or even talk on your cell phone while walking down the side walk..
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This law is "in my opinion" is a binding law in which effect EVERYONE's everyday life.. at 50-feet I will break this law so many times a day without even knowing it.. If you slam your car door or even close it you can hear that from 50 feet away.. this is an absolutely ridiculous law and I will be writing to my Senator about this.. as well as our Governor.
"hearing it 50 feet away" is an ARBITRARY and CAPRICIOUS standard. I dont expect the idiots that habit City Council to understand those terms...
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Define "hear." Is that hear when the airplanes from Pasco are right over-head, or when its quiet out?
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"hear" has a DEFINITION, and its based on what other reasonable, intelligent States and etc have adopted, a SOUND LEVEL METER that displays sound level in decibels. Take off road motorcycles in many States like Ohio, they use a DECIBEL METER to measure the exhaust noise.
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None of that kind of sanity here...
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A tape recorder not picking it up is expected, they are not very sensitive.
 @A Patriot Capricious and arbitrary... exactly.
If you can be heard from 50-feet away you could get a ticket."
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traffic enforcement a little slow now that the G-Way construction is over? Nothing else for RPD to do with 13,000 gang bangers in Dry Cities? Well, if they have nothing to do, thats a GOOD thing, but inventing crises like this is also ridiculous.
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This place is a sick JOKE...Ill be glad to escape it some day.
Are they ticketing the annoying  "Ice Cream Truck" too? If not then the law is selective and illegal.
@applejacker     I guess that means I gotta quit eating beans.
The air conditioning was louder than the music. -___-
People have a right to have peace and quiet in their homes. I'm sure he had plenty of warnings before he received the ticket. If they want to practice then they can find a place that doesn't disturb the neighbors. Besides it doesn't appear that the practice is doing any good, he's just banging on the drums not making music.
 @J. Turner REALLY?? do you know how DUMB this makes you sound!!?? where are they suppose to play!! i have boys that practice at home and THEY are good!! but just starting. they have played in Oregon, Seattle, Tacoma & Spokane!! they are in HIGH SCHOOL -- where do they go?? and you CAN'T hear it in your home!!!Â
DUDE it's people like you that got this STUPID law changed!! i hope I HOPE you get that knock on your door about your DOG being to loud. and they can ticket you FIRST complaint!!!
 @Jennifer West- Ellertson As the parent you need to be extra careful, since the violation applies to the property owner and not the noise-maker. We found out the hard way, my old drummer was in town from Montana to visit and set his drums up to play for about 10 mins while we were all at work. Cops showed up long after he had stopped and demanded to talk to Tim. Drummer said he was at work, and the officer called him a liar swearing there had been a full band playing, and said it didn't matter anyway cause it goes to the resident regardless. That's when we were also told there were 3 more tickets in the mail from previous infractions since the ordinance had gone into affect without our knowledge.Now, if anyone at our house gets excited over a video game, or a little overzealous at foosball, or turns the volume too loud, or heaven forbid pick up an instrument...Tim will potentially go to jail for a year and be fined up to $5000 even if he is in another state. Imagine going to jail for a year because your kids thought they could host a party while you were out of town, how would that affect your family? Better educate everyone in your household on the new ordinance. Not that it matters much if you live nextdoor to a hateful cop like us, he just calls stuff in and they take his word for it sight unseen apparently. Thanks for adding your voice!Â
 @J. Turner I also live in this house. My band Fishbowl plays 2-3 times a week at wineries and such that pay us $50/hr per band member minimum. Go ahead, try and tell us we're not making music, obviously people think we're worth it. The only warnings we received were before the ordinance change, when we were still within our rights (and they shouldn't have been bothering us in the first place).  In most cities you can rent a storage unit to practice in, but we have called every place in the phonebook and nobody does that here. So please enlighten me on how my professional band is supposed to practice, we moved into this house JUST to have a practice space. There are musicians of all genres and skill levels in this area (think of all the band students too), if they can't practice on their own property and you can't provide an alternative than something is wrong. Richland is now inhospitable to musicians, and for all the wrong reasons. None of the other bands I know have had this issue yet, so far it is this ONE COP NEIGHBOR. Do you understand? But in passing a new ordinance for this jerkoff to get his way, city council has left the door wide open for grumpy neighbors all over to abuse it. Cops are blindly enforcing this just from phone calls, there is no proof and if they did try to prove it they'd have to admit that AC units, dogs, and children are all far louder on our street. You can barely hear the music, it's clear in the video! It is simply harassment and abuse of power, and that above all else is the underlying issue here. But we can't go after the cops for being shady, the only thing we can do is band together and get this new ordinance overturned.The original ordinance made SPECIFIC PROVISIONS for musicians to practice. Go read it. City council tacked on section 14 and it completely overwrites section 1 now, negating the fair and logical intent of the original lawmakers. It was a knee-jerk change to appease a member of the "good ol' boys"Â
 @J. Turner Where is there space to practice outside the home in Richland?! Especially for people who are making music that don't have sufficient income (amps, instruments, equipment is all very expensive on its own), especially aspiring young people.  Also, "he's not playing music he's just banging on the drums?" Have you ever tried to play the drums first try? If you are a drummer, you NEED to practice before playing with other people. How many artists can you think of that don't have a drummer? Whether it's classic rock, jazz, folk, country, whatever -- they all rely on the rhythm the drums provides. If doing something you loved became illegal, like walking your dog, what would you do?Before these gentlemen were perfectly within the noise ordinance -- I read the RCW. The previous rule was 75 feet and quiet hours were between 9pm and 7am. The new noise ordinance is making life difficult for musicians, people practicing their art, and it's just another way for the city to make money by taking advantage of a neighborly inconvenience.So before you go ragging on these people, think about it.Â
This is ridiculous. Â People don't know how to go over to their neighbors house and ask them to be quiet anymore?
@Douglas Hamilton
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A. In this day and age, unfortunately, it could be a little risky to "go over to the neighbor's house" and ask them to stop doing whatever it is they're doing. You never know what the reception will be.
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B. The kid attended the public feedback meeting... he knew exactly what the rules - and the penalties - were.
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C. While he "notified" the neighbors, he evidently didn't get them all on board with his practice schedule.
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I'm sorry if this puts a damper on his career choice, but unfortunately, when you live in a community, you have to consider the needs of the community as a whole (rotating shifts for Hanford workers, small children, a reasonable expectation of peace and quiet in your own back yard, etc). If he and his band are serious about music as a business, then they have to be business-like in their behavior, and find or rent a place where they can practice, without violating any laws or ordinances.
@soaplady Then the community should pay for enjoying the silence. There should be a silence tax. Then that tax can go toward an endowment for a city-owned building where bands can practice at their convenience.
 @soaplady  @Douglas Also I'd like to point out WE DID find a place where we could practice "without violating any laws or ordinances". Then they went and changed the ordinance on us. What are we supposed to do, move? We just paid thousands in deposits. Is there any guarantee the next neighbor won't have a stick up their butt too? Where are these rentable practice spaces? We've looked. Do we have to pay for a commercial storefront downtown? Just what every un-signed musician needs -- to pay rent on two properties. Come on now, use your head...that's not reasonable.
 @soaplady  @Douglas He attended the city council meeting after he'd been informed the ordinance was changed (wasn't posted anywhere) and there were 3 tickets in the mail...after we had been very careful to make sure we were following the rules. Believe me, soon as we knew it was no longer safe to play ANY time of day for fear of jail, we stopped. You think we're morons? Come on.
 @soaplady  @Douglas If you watched the video, you would have seen that while we were playing our music, she was recording outside and you could not hear the music over the AC unit. We know the ordinance up and down at this point, we are wondering how we are violating the ordinance if she was only around 15 ft away from the house and the music could not be heard.  Tim is being wrongly fined with a lack of proof.
 @Sean May Time to shut JACKSONS down and the Noise in the Park, I can hear them 3/4ths of a MILE away.
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This is typical small town BS, angry manipulative whining neighbor cries and whines to Council who then feels all empowered and self important making an ordinance and harassing people.
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 @Scott Donley Exactly.  The "rise in noise complaints tripling" is all coming from ONE neighbor, the guy next door to Tim and his room mate (who happens to be my bass player and business partner).  The actual number of noise complaints this year is what, 30?  That's nothing.  And again, it's usually from one person who has an issue among dozens of citizens who don't have a problem with it whatsoever.  The issue of "growing noise complaints" is completely exaggerated and is basically just favors done by the city for one individual who has some clout.  The reggae band band we play for sometimes brings home 300 per musician per week and over a month that's around 1200 dollars of income per person.  That's almost as much as I make working 40 hours a week at my day job.  What about our right to work our own irregular shifts as well as work from home?  Can I call the cops on you for mowing your lawn?  According to the ordinance, I can.  It's overkill and it's hurting the members of this community that soaplady and J Turner are conveniently forgetting.  Musicians and their friends are citizens of this place too and we also want to be happy living where we live.  With these laws, it's almost impossible.