Not that techno parties are ever noisy, of course.

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/10/24/BA0U13N4AT.DTL

New plan to police noise in San Francisco

Wyatt Buchanan, Chronicle Staff Writer
Friday, October 24, 2008

San Franciscans who are kept awake at night by loud noise, or just driven mad during the daytime, could get new power to help maintain the peace under a proposal making its way through City Hall.

The "Noise Control Ordinance" updates for the first time in more than three decades how the city regulates loud noise from mechanical sources like garbage trucks and ventilation systems along with bass and drum noise from nightclubs, which currently have no restrictions.

"We live in a big city. This is not a small town and we do have to have some latitude around noise levels, but I do think that in certain cases the goodwill and patience of constituents is taken advantage of," said Supervisor Tom Ammiano, who is sponsoring the proposal heard by a supervisors' committee Thursday. The measure should be in front of the full Board of Supervisors for consideration on Nov. 4.

The current noise laws are essentially unenforceable because the original law, passed in 1973, based regulations on zoning, when there were only 19 types of zones. Today, there are more than 90, according to city leaders. The technology used to measure sound also has changed radically.

The proposed law would allow city inspectors responding to a complaint to measure the base level of ambient noise, which largely comes from traffic, and then sets limits on how much that can be exceeded by both commercial and residential sources.

Commercial sources, such as an auto body shop or construction site, could exceed the ambient level by eight decibels while residential sources, like a home air-conditioning unit, could exceed the baseline by five decibels. The interior of residences would be protected by a standard limit of 45 decibels of noise from outside sources. An average speaking voice measures approximately 60 decibels.

If the legislation is approved, "We're going to be able to go to a noisy neighbor and tell them we've got this measurement and the measurement is above a fixed standard," said Dr. Rajiv Bhatia, director of environmental health for the city's Department of Public Health.

Noise violations would become infractions instead of misdemeanor offenses, which officials believe will make enforcement easier. The city's Entertainment Commission would for the first time have authority to regulate low-frequency bass and drum noise.

The proposal does not cover all types of noise, however, including human-generated noises such as shouting and animal-generated noises like crowing roosters, which affects some parts of the Mission. Barking dogs already are regulated by a separate city law.

Helicopters and motorcycles also would be unaffected, and city departments could grant exemptions to permitted businesses and events, such as the Gay Pride Parade.

A noise task force also would be created and would advise the city on other ways to regulate noise.

"This is not the end of the road, but the beginning," Ammiano said.

Some people already are questioning the effectiveness of the updates to the law.

"I don't think this legislation will solve the problem of listening to other people's loud speakers in my home," said Martin MacIntyre, who called the proposal "bass-ackwards" because he believes the task force should be convened before reforms are made.

E-mail Wyatt Buchanan at wbuchanan@sfchronicle.com.