Council approves first readings of vehicle-noise and fireworks code changes after months of study

Lede: Fort Collins City Council on Tuesday adopted on first reading four ordinances aimed at curbing vehicle noise and a separate ordinance tightening enforcement of illegal fireworks, with unanimous roll-call votes.

Nut graf: The changes add a traffic-code provision for “unreasonable vehicle noise,” remove a series of traffic-noise references from the criminal noise section, clarify muffler-equipment violations and permit certain repeat traffic-noise offenses to be charged as misdemeanors. Council also approved on first reading an amendment to the city fireworks code to allow citation of a party’s host when fireworks are used on private property; all votes were 7-0.

Body: Police leaders told council the proposals follow a year of work by the traffic unit and respond to frequent public complaints about loud vehicles, stereos, engine revving, ‘rolling coal’ and similar behaviors. Assistant Chief Christy Velasquez described four principal changes:

• A new traffic-code section making “unreasonable vehicle noise” an enforceable offense and giving officers discretion, similar to the city’s existing unreasonable-noise rule for gatherings, to consider location, duration, time of day and effects on neighbors.

• A housekeeping amendment removing traffic-noise references from the criminal-noise portion of city code so vehicle noise is handled in the traffic code for clarity and more efficient enforcement.

• A rewrite of the muffler/equipment violation language to separate modified-muffler and straight-pipe situations and make it easier for officers to charge equipment-based violations when a vehicle’s exhaust has been tampered with.

• An option to designate some traffic-related noise violations as misdemeanors so officers and the municipal court can impose graduated fines and penalties for repeat offenders; the court determines fines.

Police emphasized these changes do not eliminate the need for officers to observe violations; the city will increase focused patrols in hotspots and use education and social-media outreach alongside enforcement. Council members asked about signs to warn motorists entering downtown, the likely fine ranges (municipal-court fines for misdemeanors may be substantially higher than traffic infractions), and whether noise-monitoring technology would be revisited; staff said technology is not yet reliable enough to replace officer observations but the department will continue…