Santa Barbara City Council Passes New Noise Ordinance

The Santa Barbara City Council approved changes to the City’s noise ordinance on Tuesday.

The changes will impose steep fines for those causing noise disturbance in residential neighborhoods.

Many residents had complained about loud sounds extending into the late hours from the neighborhoods surrounding Santa Barbara City College.

Noise violators will receive a warning for the first incident.

After that, the subsequent fines imposed will be $350, $750 and $1,000.

“A thousand dollar fine hitting anybody would just hurt and especially for a college kid, that like everything. I mean, we pay for rent and food, everything is already going on and that would just really make someone suffer and hurt a college kid. I can see someone dropping out to pay for that,” says Mathan Cephas, a student from Santa Barbara Community College.

“This is the first step in implementing the recommendations proposed by the neighborhood task force. The task force has worked together over the course of two years and countless hours to develop sustainable community-based strategies,” said Santa Barbara City College President Lori Gaskin. SBCC is a partner in this effort and we look forward to continued collaboration with the City and the Task Force.”

SBCC has committed $100,000 to launch the Student Neighborhood Assistance Program (SNAP). The program would be spearheaded by the Santa Barbara Police Department and would aim at alleviating neighborhood concerns around the college campus.

“We’ll also work with the community we’ve worked with landlords to make sure their tenants are aware of these changes,” says Luz Reyes-Martin, the public information officer for Santa Barbara Community College.