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Council weighs sound cameras and civil enforcement after repeated noise complaints
Summary
Law enforcement briefed the council on sound cameras and enforcement challenges: devices cost about $40,000, may require international maintenance, and criminal noise tickets have been routinely dismissed by the DA; staff recommended exploring civil‑code remedies and administrative citations.
Lieutenant Lovato briefed the council on a proposal to use sound‑measuring cameras to enforce noise complaints in the canyon and described legal and operational hurdles.
Lovato said the vendor SoundView (U.K.) makes cameras priced at about $40,000 each and that maintenance or repair could require return shipping to the manufacturer. She said UPD’s grant specialist had found no available grants to cover purchase and that the DA’s office has dismissed prior criminal noise citations in the canyon.
Because the criminal standard (“beyond a reasonable doubt”) is difficult to meet given canyon reverberation and measurement complications, staff and the city attorney recommended the council consider classifying noise complaints as civil code violations enforceable by administrative hearing (a lower proof standard). That approach would likely require an ordinance change and coordination with the municipal service district (MSD) administrative enforcement unit.
Council discussed placement, calibration, training needs and whether the devices could capture license plates for civil enforcement; staff said civil citations would likely be more defensible than criminal prosecutions and promised further work with the DA and MSD on ordinance language and cost options.
