A neighbor?s dirt bike track has besieged Melanie Gness? waterfront dream home with noise so loud it disrupts weekend gatherings and can be heard over the phone.
“This is my castle, and yet I can?t enjoy it because I feel like I?m being run out of my own home,” said Gness, who lives on a 2-acre plot on Forest Beach Road in northern Annapolis.
All day long during most weekends, teenagers rip along the dirt bike track that passes within 80 feet and in clear view of Gness? house, which was built in the 1990s.
The noise issue began last October.
Attempts to discuss the noise with her neighbor have led to obscene gestures and death threats, Gness said.
The homeowner was not available Thursday for comment.
Other residents on Forest Beach Road have complained about the noise as well.
“Your rights should not be infringed upon by others? negligence and disrespect,” Coralie Brooks said.
Gness? situation has prompted Councilwoman Cathy Vitale, R-District 5, to develop a bill that would regulate noise by decibel levels in residential neighborhoods.
Current law does not regulate motor vehicles.
“There is a need to do something and put restrictions in place,” Vitale said during this week?s council work session. The bill is being drafted.
The council voted down a bill last May that would have put noise restrictions in residential and commercial environments.
Councilman James Benoit, D-District 4, said controlling noise is a “serious constitutional concern” and a violation of First Amendment rights.
“We ought to either prohibit aftermarket modifications, or say you can?t operate these vehicles in residential neighborhoods,” he said.
NOISE PROTOCOL
Any sound device cannot operate at “an unreasonably loud volume” within 50 feet of a residential neighborhood, according to the county noise law.
When a noise complaint comes to the Anne Arundel County police, an officer goes to the scene and gives the violator a warning. Repeat offenders can be issued a citation with a possible $500 fine or 30 days in jail.
Source: Anne Arundel Code 9-1-706
