Complex Problems, Creative Solutions

Imagine if you had a neighbor that ran a generator morning, noon, and night because his power was shut off and he could not afford to reconnect it.  Imagine if nobody addressed this continuing nuisance of noise next door?

Everyone knows that after a storm or if the power is out for an extended period--the sounds of generators will ring out throughout the suburban neighborhoods of Escambia County Florida. 

As power is restored, one by one, the generators get turned off and these very useful machines get stored away in the garages of Pensacola until the next storm or power outage.

At least that's the way it typically is.....

In one District 1 neighborhood, though, a generator runs constantly--24/7, 365 days a year.

"The occupant had his power cut off long ago, and so they just run the generator for power" said one resident I spoke with about this issue.  He continued "I'm told they (occupants of the house) can't afford to pay the fees and back charges, so they are not going to have the power turned back on--they just run their generator."

As I toured the area recently, I parked three houses away from the house that is running the generator.  The moment I stepped out of the car I heard the distinctive, droning, continuous sound of the gas powered generator.  It was loud.

Imagine if you had a neighbor that did this in your neighborhood---and the sound never ended?  It would get old very quickly.

Imagine if it continued, unabated, for month after month after month...

Luckily for us all, our current noise ordinance covers such noises in residential neighborhoods.  Sec. 42-65 (l) states that "between the hours of 10:00P.M. and 7:00 A.M. the operation of..any internal combustion engine, the operation of which causes noise due to the explosion of operating gases or fluids, provided that the noise is unreasonably loud and can be heard across the property line from which it emanates..[is] declared to be a per se violation of this article"

Now that it is understood that the current, existing ordinances cover this nuisance issue, the next step is to ensure that the ordinance is being enforced as appropriate.  This is the step we are at right now on this particular matter, we shall see how this goes but hopefully this matter will be resolved lawfully in short order.