Portland committee forwards ordinance to consolidate noise enforcement under Title 18, citing fairness concerns

The Community and Public Safety Committee voted 5‑0 on April 8 to refer to the full City Council an ordinance that would repeal parts of Title 14 (14a‑30.01 and 14a‑30.02) and consolidate municipal noise enforcement under Title 18, which uses technical measurement standards and due‑process procedures.

Councilor Jamie Dunphy, who introduced the ordinance, told the committee the change responds to repeated complaints that an older provision — known as 14a‑30 — allowed “plainly audible” enforcement by police with subjective judgment. Dunphy said the duplicate enforcement regimes had been used inconsistently and, he argued, disproportionately affected music enjoyed by Black and Brown Portlanders.

“My office has met with the chief, the police policy team, the entertainment division, the police union, the Multnomah County District Attorney's Office, and the permitting bureau staff about this proposal,” Dunphy said. He described the proposed repeal as “a thoughtful step in using tools that we already have on the books” and asked the committee to…