Party Houses

I guess maybe I have been blessed. I live in a nice neighborhood where all of my neighbors are friendly, respectful and quiet. Sure, we all build decks or chop firewood at times, but when it is time for bed, we all go to bed. This is a very important social contract we have in our neighborhood. Unfortunately, there are neighborhoods in town that do not have a social contract like our neighborhood. I got a call from a client recently who was being terrorized by a neighborhood kid whose parents were out of town. The kid was having loud parties every night. In the morning my client would wake up to beer cans on her lawn and on one morning she found fresh vomit on her roses.
Usually, it is best if you can resolve problems like this one by talking to the neighbor to get them to tone things down. My client had tried this, but the kid copped a bit of an attitude with her and basically told her to mind her own business.
The next step is usually to involve the authorities. Most cities have ordinances, which prohibit loud noises. Casper has a noise ordinance, which prohibits loud, unusual or unnecessary noises. Casper City Ordinance §8.20.020 prohibits loud noise like yelling, singing, whistling, shouting or otherwise making noise that disturbs, injures or endangers the comfort, repose, health, peace or safety of the people living in the city. This Ordinance goes on to prohibit playing loud music in a manner that disturbs the peace. A neighbor who has a party that includes making a lot of racket in the neighborhood is probably violating the law.
Calling the police can stop the immediate problem, but most people are reluctant to use the “nuclear option” because it can make for a pretty uncomfortable vibe in the neighborhood. Sometimes the party boy may want to get even with the party pooper. Getting even can take several different forms. First, there is the passive aggressive approach which usually includes stupid stuff like low level property destruction or calling the police to report you for something. Another approach is where the party boy either threatens you or actually gets in your face to try to push you in a fistfight. Either approach can cause bad blood, which can result in serious consequences. If the problem gets to this point the only thing you should do is to let the police handle it.
In my view, the most important weapon you have in this kind of situation is the other neighbors. If the party is keeping you up, it is probably keeping everyone else in the neighborhood up. If the party boy thinks his problem is just one cranky neighbor he may want to push things into a confrontation. It is very important for all of the neighbors to stick together. This is what good neighbors do. If all of the neighbors will stand with you out in the street when the police arrive the party boy will get the message that the entire neighborhood is not only sick of the noise, but they are united in taking measures to shut it down. If he feels like the other neighbors have each other’s backs he may not like those odds and will not try for any retribution.
Good communication with your neighbors is essential to a quiet neighborhood and the key to avoiding more serious neighborhood problems. It is important to be tolerant and understand that a little noise is not the end of the world, but when it gets out of hand it is important to assert your rights. Try talking to the neighbor before calling the police, but if that does not work do not try to bully your way to a quiet neighborhood. That rarely works. Organizing the neighborhood is probably your best tool. If you must involve the authorities, let them handle it. Mark Twain once said “nothing so needs reforming as other people’s habits.” He must have lived in a noisy neighborhood.