"[The noise ordinance] sends a pretty bad message to touring bands, agents and labels," says Lemons. "From an out-of-state agent's perspective, why would you run the risk of driving your roster into the ground or in debt over something like this?"
Thanks to the passage of the United States Noise Pollution and Abatement Act of 1972, Houston, like hundreds of other cities around the nation, has legislation that specifies the allowable amount of sound (usually measured in decibels) that can cross property lines. Unlike laws in other cities, however, the Bayou City's version has experienced its share of controversy.
Photo by Marco Torres
Houston City Council member Ed Gonzalez, who voted in favor of the new ordinance, thinks that Council should take another look at the law. Gonzalez, a former musician, also suggests the creation of entertainment districts in no-zoning Houston.
Photo by Marco Torres
Josh Sanders of the Greater Houston Entertainment Coalition Political Action Committee is demanding a redo on a law that many are calling unfair and heavy-handed.
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On October 13, 2006, following a noise complaint from neighbors, a fiery melee went off at the old Walter's on Washington between HPD officer G.M. Rodriguez (who allegedly discharged his Taser at three people), Adam Stephens of the kick-back, San Francisco-based folk band Two Gallants and several crowd members.
Today, Joshua Sanders, a registered lobbyist who's the official consultant and spokesman for the Greater Houston Entertainment Coalition Political Action Committee, views Houston's situation as "not working for anyone."
"Club owners don't know what they need to do, there are no objective measures for either the clubs or the police to go by and the police have to be frustrated that these things are taking up so much of their time," says Sanders. "Some of these complaints eat up 45 minutes for two officers. They've got more important things to do."
Critics are also up in arms over what they call unnecessary and heavy-handed crackdowns. This includes the February 8 detainment of DJ Badbwoy BMC at Mango's, as well as a disturbing incident on January 27 outside a private venue — while addressing a noise complaint, an HPD officer cocked his shotgun and advanced toward the crowd.
Sanders, who has worked with City of Houston agencies in the past, says the ultimate goal of the PAC, which formed in late January in response to the revised ordinance, is to draft new legislation and pass it.
"One of the things we realized almost as soon as we started looking at the problem is that we need to be a resource for the city," explains Sanders. "I think the city understands the situation is far from perfect. So if we want to see a change in the ordinance, we have to do some homework for the city."
According to Sanders, some tutelage is definitely needed for local police officers, especially after an HPD captain told Sanders that bar owners "will understand what compliance is when they get enough tickets."
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"It was almost surreal," says Fitzgerald's co-owner Omar Afra. "The doorman came and said the police were outside wanting to talk to me. When I got out there, they asked if we had live music tonight and I said 'yes.' They handed me a ticket through the window — already had it ready — and never even got out of the car. No investigation, no nothing."
"They're attacking our livelihood," adds Afra, who is in no mood to mince words or play nice after receiving a drive-by ticket on March 9 during an "absurdly quiet" night at the 35-year-old music venue in the Heights.
Afra, who is active in the PAC and plans to plead not guilty, says that he's spent more than $10,000 on soundproofing improvements, including construction of a short hallway and a second door leading to the back patio.
Like other club owners, he is baffled by the meaning of "compliance." In his words, he also hates that police don't need a formal complaint to issue a ticket based on what Afra calls "probable cause."
"You could be bothering nobody," says Afra. "Fitzgerald's has been here a long time and we have made a point of having a close relationship with the residents around us. I don't think it's our neighbors filing complaints."
Ethan Minshew, general manager of Kung Fu Saloon, is also stupefied on the meaning of compliance. He says that on October 13 — the day after the ordinance passed — cops nailed the Washington Avenue bar for a noise violation. Not for a live band, a DJ or for loud music on the venue's outdoor seating area (Kung Fu doesn't boast exterior speakers), but for the collective volume of people talking on the patio.
"It wasn't and still isn't entirely clear as to why we got the ticket that evening," says Minshew, who went to court, paid the fine and accepted deferred adjudication instead of fighting the ticket.
"We don't want anyone to plead guilty," explains the PAC's Sanders about the post-citation legal route he's telling each violator to take. "We've learned that neighbors will be able to use any guilty pleas to contest liquor licenses. So we're recommending that anyone who gets a ticket ask for a deference."
Matthew Festa, a professor at South Texas College of Law who has expertise in noise-ordinance issues, adds that due to the law's troublesome language, it would be difficult to convict an offender in court.
"The law isn't so over-broad that it's plainly unconstitutional, but it does give a concerning amount of discretion to the enforcers," he says.
