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Residents Tell Council of 'Gonzales Speedway' Noise, Ask Oxnard to Address Altered Mufflers; Alley Encampments Also Raised
Summary
At the April 1 Oxnard City Council meeting, a resident asked the council to address loud modified-muffler vehicles on Gonzales Road after repeated nighttime disturbances; another speaker raised concerns about alley encampments downtown.
During public comment at the Oxnard City Council meeting on April 1, two residents described neighborhood problems and asked the council to consider options.
Reverend Roger Labonte, who said he lives in an assisted-living community on Gonzales Road, told the council that repeatedly loud, modified-muffler vehicles speed through the neighborhood and have become a persistent nighttime disturbance. Labonte said he called police multiple times but was told officers would be informed and that there was little more the department could do in the moment. He said one episode of noise startled him and caused him to fall from his bed, hitting a nightstand. "The noise was so extreme that it woke me up and then proceeding to intensify. I thought sure the car was about to crash through my window," he said.
Labonte asked the city to consider options beyond ad-hoc enforcement, suggesting a program similar to mandatory smog inspections for altered mufflers so that excessively loud modifications would be inspected and not allowed. He acknowledged there are limits — for example, speed bumps can interfere with emergency vehicle access — and asked staff and council to place the issue on a future agenda for consideration.
Pat Brown, who identified herself as a volunteer at the Aviation Museum, told the council she had a solution for the noise issue and then raised separate concerns about people experiencing homelessness who gather in alleyways, saying some encampments are in hidden alley locations in downtown Oxnard. The transcript of Brown’s remarks is partial in the public record provided.
No council action or staff direction to prepare an immediate ordinance or program was announced during the public-comment period. Staff did not announce any formal response actions at the time; the council did not vote or direct staff on the enforcement or regulatory options described by the speakers during the April 1 meeting.
