What to do about New Night Club Noise?

[heydude]

A new nightclub opened across the street. They blare music until 2 to 3 am. The crowds are loud all night going in and out and hanging around outside. There is a building between me and the new nightclub.

I am used to city noise. I am used to the drunks going around on the weekends.

But this is EVERY NIGHT.

I can understand having to put up with noise on a friday and saturday. Sunday and thursday I can even sort of deal with as well.

But a monday night? A monday night at 3am?
and tuesday!
and wednesday!

what can i do?

i am in contact with the person who gives them their license but so far no real good advice. she says to call 911. but i feel kind of stupid calling 911 every night? and how do you call 911 on random drunks? ahha. they pop up every 10 minutes.

anyways, shouldn't they have to close down at like midnight on a weekday?

i can't exactly up and sell, what with the housing market and all. and really, is there any place in a city that is no noisy?

thank you.

[peggy]

Is there no noise ordinance in your city? Surely there is something on the books. Other than that, I guess ear plugs. sorry.:(

[Tussiemussies]

Maybe put cut styrofoam that fits your windows on that side of your condo, and put them in at night.

Also you can buy insulated curtains which both together should dampen the noise.

I believe you can get insulated curtains from Plow and Hearth. These two items together will also insulate your house much better when it is cold out.

If you can get used to it you could buy a machine that plays white noise or maybe if you want something more relaxing, something like the sound of the ocean. At least something that will tune out the noise and you can fall asleep to.

Can you sleep in another area where the noise doesn't seem as loud?

Good luck!:)

[CathyA]

Can you start a petition of other residents in the area? Did no one object to it when it became known that it was going in?
Seems like surely there's something that can be done about it.

[razz]

This is so timely.

I watched a TV program about the threat of moving a large casino into urban areas of Toronto. An urban planner presented situations in the states (NJ and NC maybe?) where a large noisy complex in an urban centre brought crime, peripheral activities like betting houses, nightclubs, prostitution and it literally killed the community in short order. As I recollect, he was hired in each case to turn the whole area back to a peaceful urban residential area that existed before.

http://theagenda.tvo.org/episode/174459/ontarios-jackpot

To come back to your situation, it is time to move as the problem with the nightclub will grow as other similar and related ventures move in. Get out while you can.

Police can do little while the political forces side with the nightclub business and its operation that generate revenue and employment. If you can get some community opposition to this legal use of the property at present, you might get the support of the political municipal council but it will take a lot of public support to change the zoning use.

[SteveinMN]

If the nightclub is operating within existing noise ordinances, there's nothing you can do about it. I would be surprised, though, that noise ordinances would permit loud noise in a mixed commercial-residential area so late on "school nights". The person who licensed them should be able to point you to the noise ordinances or people who are supposed to enforce them. They can tell you what's allowed; then you can document if the nightclub is not complying.

[Lainey]

Call your local city council rep, and if they're no help, call your state representative. They have staff who handle these kinds of citizens complaints and will get you to the right person. Keep following up if it doesn't work. The squeaky wheel ...

[Cypress]

I wonder if there is such a thing as noise cancelling earplugs? There is a railroad bridge repair project happening in my town. My property abutts the track. The repair forced a detour of the road across the tracks and now there is a signal point with trains whistling as they near the crossing. My house is maybe three house lots away and it is LOUD. The train schedule is random. I fought city hall all the way to the CSX contact and won't win the battle of no train whistle at night. This is supposed to be over in 60 days.

Right now, I am experimenting with two layers of cotton balls in my ears. Maybe this sounds silly, but I am a sensitve sleeper and have to block the whistle or at least dim the sound. The only problem with that is how do you hear the alarm clock in the morning. I also wear a eye mask to block unwanted light.

Oi, I feel your pain.

[JaneV2.0]

I don't like noise--especially not interminable droning/whining sounds like lawn mowers. For awhile I worked the overnight shift, which led me to come up with a cheapo headgear composed of rifle range ear protectors stuffed with extra foam and worn over earplugs. Not the easiest to sleep in, but they do shut out most noise. An MP3 player with earbuds works well, too. I swear the next house I own will be soundproof.

[awakenedsoul]

I put my air conditioner on the fan setting and it really helps me to sleep when my neighborhood is noisy. Your situation sounds really bad. I would ask the other neighbors to get together and complain to the owner. I had to sue my neighbor in Small Claims Court for violation of a noise ordinance. The judge put a stop to it.

[Jill]

They may be operating within the permitted hours, but there may be other details they are violating. For example, there may be limits on whether they can leave their doors open, allow gatherings in front of their building, have outdoor seating or drinking areas, etc. All of those things will contribute to high noise levels. Check with your local zoning official. You can also complain to the liquor board. They have to approve liquor licenses and keep tabs on complaints.

[ApatheticNoMore]

First answer:
1) Yes report them, maybe at least the noise will stop at 11 or midnight or something. That's a real improvement in your quality of life, it's worth the fight, that kind of nonsense just accepted and shoved down every day can drive a person crazy.
2) Move
3) I've actually done quite a bit of research on noise cancelling (noisy apartment neighbors at times). Yes of course earplugs work to block some noise (get the strongest strength), but they won't block it all (and IMO they especially won't block music, slightly better at blocking talking). Beyond that theres no easy way to block out noise. If you have an entire remodel that knocks out the walls and stuff and noise insulates them then yes, maybe. But of course I wasn't going to do that for a rented apartment! I looked at wierd products that you stick to your walls and stuff that claim to block noise. My research convinced me they probably wouldn't (if someone has experience with these products otherwise happy to hear it, I just concluded it was probably a waste of money). Here's what I've read: a lot of noise insulated products are actually intended to mellow out the noises WITHIN a dwelling. This is great if you are a musician, it will make a room a recording studio, your music will sound GREAT. This does very little if what you want is to block out OUTSIDE noise, which was what I was looking for! So the insulating products seemed not worth it. Blocking noise in an apartment honestly seemed like an impossible task. The white noise generators might work. Running a fan or an AC (fan will use less electricity probably) will partially block out noise. Running a fan at a decent speed AND ear plugs are the solution I ended up using, it worked well BUT it wasn't music I was blocking out just humans. It has quieted down a lot since then, and earplugs now suffice except if the fricken t.v. is running, then I sleep away from the wall as well. Yea moving your bed as far from the noise as possible is a good idea. You've basically hit on one of the problems with condos, at least single family homes usually have some buffer (although the neighbors might still be bad), at least renters can up and move when the lease ends ... just use any laws that exist any way you can.