To: MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL
From: MICHAEL W. WEBB, CITY ATTORNEY JOY FORD, QUALITY OF LIFE PROSECUTOR
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ADOPT BY TITLE ONLY ORDINANCE NO. 3290-25 AMENDING MUNICIPAL CODE ARTICLE 5 OF CHAPTER 24 TO TITLE 4 REGARDING SOUND AMPLIFYING EQUIPMENT AND MUNICIPAL CODE CHAPTER 2 TO TITLE 1 REGARDING INFRACTIONS, FOR SECOND READING AND ADOPTION
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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
On February 4, 2025, Councilmember Todd Loewenstein moved to direct staff to draft an ordinance that prohibited the use of amplifying sound equipment between the hours of 10:00 p.m. and 9:00 a.m. The Ordinance was presented to City Council for First Reading on February 18, 2025. The Ordinance is now ready for adoption and, if approved, would take effect in thirty days.
BACKGROUND
Around October of last year, the police department began to receive calls for service at the Sonesta Hotel, located at 300 North Harbor Drive in the City of Redondo Beach regarding approximately fifteen demonstrators using horns and public address (PA) systems. The police department received a total of twenty-nine (29) similar calls for service between October 2024 and January 2025 at this location. Seventeen (17) of those calls occurred between 7:00 a.m. and 8:00 a.m. The remaining twelve (12) calls occurred at noon or later.
The noise level far exceeded the maximum permissible sound levels by land use categories; however, identifying suspects for enforcement action proved to be difficult with the number of people contributing to the noise levels caused by the sound amplifying equipment being used, in addition to not having proper equipment to measure the sound level. Officers were also cautious not to infringe on anyone's First Amendment rights.
On February 4, 2025, the City Council had a discussion regarding city ordinances regulating noise generated by protests in public areas and the hours during which protests are allowed to occur. Councilmember Todd Loewen...
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