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Residents ask city to rein in jet‑engine ‘monster truck’ noise at fairgrounds
Summary
A resident told council that a jet‑engine open‑flame monster truck at recent fairgrounds events produced extreme noise that reached neighborhoods and that the fairgrounds exemption in Puyallup’s noise code should not excuse lack of mitigation.
Puyallup — Several residents urged the council to work with the Washington State Fair and fairgrounds administrators to reduce noise from a jet‑engine “open flame” monster truck that ran at a recent event at the fairgrounds.
Joe Colombo, who said he lives about a mile from the fairgrounds, told the council the vehicle “is so loud, it can be heard as far away as South Hill Mall and over by Shaw Road” and disrupted television and quiet at home. Colombo said he had been told the vehicle would return next year and that fair administration “had absolutely no plans to mitigate the noise that it caused.”
Colombo said he reviewed the city’s noise‑control ordinance, chapter 6.16, and cited the text that exempts fairgrounds events from certain limits, arguing that the code was drafted before such jet‑engine vehicles were envisioned and that the fairgrounds’ open‑air setting is not an appropriate location for that level of noise. He asked the city to “find a way to work with the fair to eliminate the noise pollution” from the vehicle.
Council members took public comment but did not adopt an immediate policy change. The complaint highlighted an intersection of event permitting, municipal noise exemptions and community expectations for events in the downtown‑adjacent fairgrounds.
What comes next: Residents asked the city to engage with fair management on noise‑mitigation strategies for future events; councilmembers encouraged staff to explore options and work with the fair on appropriate mitigation.
