Know Your Rights: Noise Violations

Published March 27, 2007

One unique perk to off-campus living in the City of Burlington, is the Noise Control Ordinance. This policy helps protect your sleep, all hours of the night and day. Under the Noise Control Ordinance, a friendly officer can come to your door, write up a fine and send you and your homeboys and girls off to bed.

But before you get stuck with a $300-plus fine, there are a few things to know about the policy and how it works for a UVM student.

1. Parties - There are two types of noise violations: parties and otherwise. A party, according to Burlington Law, is defined as two or more people at a residence that is not their own, so yes, if you are in your apartment with two friends, who are not your roommates, you are at a party.
2. Noise - During “quiet hours” for the City of Burlington, 10pm-7am, any noise that can be heard off your property, whether that noise is disturbing others or not, violates the noise ordinance. Talking with two Burlinton officers made it apparent that noise level is a gray area. It is at the officer’s descretion to determine whether a noise is “unreasonable” or “unnecessary.”
3. Finding Noise - Police can decide to fine your house if a) they get a complaint from a neighbor who was distressed by the volume level or b) they are being “proactive” and while cruising the college neighborhood they hear a few riffs of “Timbaland” coming from your house.
4. Fines: Burlington has a zero-tolerance policy concerning noise violations, meaning you are fucked the moment the officer raps on the door.
1st offense: $300 plus 3 hours of restorative justice per resident
2nd offense: $400 plus 3 hours of restorative justice per resident
3rd offense: The third offense in a two-year period is a criminal offense, landing you a court date, a $500 fine per resident, and a record.

“Per resident” means that the fine is multiplied by the number of residents at the house. However, this is another gray area, and it is at the officer’s discretion to decide how many of the residents are responsible for the party. Advice: only send one resident to the door to speak to the officer. If you throw down often, work out a rotation, no one wants a record.

5. Don’t make it more than noise: The Police cannot enter your house without an invitation or a warrant, unless to stop violence or the immediate destruction of evidence. Never invite the police in! Doing so will leave you vulnerable to further investigation of the same or related offense. If you have absolutely nothing to hide, and in all truth you are simply guilty of making noise, you can chose to let the officers into your house, but know that this is an option not a requirement. Advise: be cooperative with the officer, but always remember the location of your door jam.

6. UVM involvement: UVM works with the Burlington Police. All violations of city and state law are reported to the University. This means that you can be fucked twice over for the same violation, by the city and by the Univeristy.

UVM, in all its wisdom, reserves the right to “proceed with the student judicial process, even if a criminal case is not wholly resolved” and considers violations of the Noise Ordinance as violations of the student code of conduct, “regardless of whether the offense is prosecuted in a court of law.” This means that if you decide to appeal your fine with the city, the University can sanction you (sanctions ranging from a warning to expulsion) before the appeal goes through.

The Noise Ordinance is there to protect us and our streets from the immanent threat of noise pollution. So while you plan what to do with your 2-plus friends and acquaintances between 10pm-7am, remember keep volume in mind and always recycle.

The Water Tower is not responsible for any actions or interactions you have with law enforcement. Please think before you act and act responsibly. We offer you our best research, however, The Water Tower is not an attorney.

Print This Article

Comments