Noise Code: Changes Untested on Difficult Cases; Training and Guidance Could Help

The King County agencies that enforce the noise code deal effectively with noise in most cases. However, while the 2015 changes to the noise code clarified language and reduced barriers to implementation, it did not result in more effective noise enforcement in difficult situations. Some of these difficult noise situations persist because of a lack of emphasis from the King County Sheriff’s Office (KCSO) and uncertainty about how to apply the revised code.

KCSO deputies rarely write citations for noise code violations. We found that in response to over 7,000 complaints, KCSO issued one noise citation in the two years before the code change, and three noise citations in the two years following the code change. In the vast majority of cases, noise complaints to KCSO are not repeated, indicating that a verbal warning was at least temporarily effective at controlling the noise, and a citation was not necessary. At locations with multiple noise complaints, however, the lack of citations means KCSO is not making use of the enforcement tools provided in the revised code, such as increasing fines for successive citations within a year.

Additionally, some noise complaints involve complex enforcement issues. In these situations, the lack of citations issued by KCSO results in the absence of a pattern of court decisions on appeals that KCSO could use to inform the way it implements the noise code. Without court decisions on appeals, the effectiveness of the noise code cannot be determined.

We found enforcement to be effective for animal and construction noise complaints, which the Regional Animal Services of King County and the Department of Permitting and Environmental Review handle respectively.

We recommend that KCSO work with the Prosecuting Attorney’s Office to develop guidance for complex noise situations, develop procedures for handling noise complaints, and provide training to deputies.

When the County Council changed the noise code in 2015, it requested that we conduct this audit to see how the changes are working. The Council changed the code to make noise violations easier to enforce, particularly for difficult cases. The purpose of the audit is to assess the extent to which the noise code is working as intended.