After Jason Vicks, owner of Kalu Asian Kitchen on 6th Street in Uptown Charlotte, was arrested for violating the Charlotte noise ordinance on March 3, 2012, his attorney, Ken Harris, announced he is calling on the city to rescind the ordinance.
The noise ordinance, which was passed in May of 2011, limits the decibels and hours that amplified noise is allowed within the city limits. Harris did not clarify which section of the ordinance led to Vicks’ arrest.
A press release sent out by Harris reads:
“I am today calling on Charlotte city officials to rescind the new noise ordinance in that the ordinance is poorly constructed and allows for the arbitrary citation and arrest of Charlotte citizens,” Harris states. “The ordinance further allows for citizens to be cited based on the number of complaints rather than the amount of sound generated. Resultantly, an entity that generates outdoor sound that affects hundreds of downtown residents may avoid citation while an indoor sound emitter affecting tens of residents may be cited and arrested.”
Attorney Harris goes on to say, “All citizens, black and white, should be concerned when a law can be applied in an arbitrary manner,” says Harris. “In any municipality, there must be a balance between the rights of the individual and the rights of the business owner.”
This article appears in Mar 6-12, 2012.
I prefer the other side of the coin. It is not fair to working people who sleep nights to have to listen to loud music until all hours of the night. THEY should be complaining that the ordinance is not being enforced often enough.
If you want to run a loud, all night, party business you should build a facility that confines the loud noise to your property. The technology exists.
I think this would be analagous to sharing a wall with a neighbor. Clearly they have a right to party, but there has to be a limit for both sides to enjoy their lives. Of course I would not like to be on the shoes of the restaurant owner, but with 30 complaints and 4 tickets, it seems to suggest that the restaurant is in the wrong on this one.
The noise can not be heard outside of the restaurant nor can it be heard inside the building and city officials and police can attest to it, but bc a dog can hear the noise and is waking up there is a problem and that is crazy.
From the Charlotte Observer:
Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department spokesman Robert Fey said noise complaints against Vicks’ restaurant date to fall 2011.
“This arrest was made after repeated warnings … dating back to October,”
That doesn’t seem to agree with your claim that the Police can attest to the noise not being heard outside of the restaurant.
I suggest you go and check it out for yourself and see who is telling the truth. I am not a liar and the truth should alwalys be told.
I was always told to trust but VERIFY before forming an opinion. It has never failed me.
I WAS THERE!!!
Last week during CIAA I was standing in line waiting to enter Kalu…after the gentleman allowed about 5 people in to the establishment my friends and I were next to enter. The security man left the door open (as most establishments do) and you could hear the music…HOWEVER keep in mind that I was right next to the door so of course I could hear the music. The next thing I notice is 5 POLICE OFFICEERS WALKING UP IN FRONT OF KALU JUST STANDING THERE…then there was a shorter Hispanic police officer that pulled out a sound detector (of some sort)…HE STOOD at the street about 6 feet away and looked at his devise…and I guess the values on the devise wasn’t what he was looking for so he stepped closer to the building and literally at the door while it was open and he then looked down again and said…”YEAH YEAH…its 84 it’s 84 (whatever that means)…he then looked at the other police officers (kinda overweight man with dark hair and black glasses) smiled and nodded his head as if he was saying (Yeah…we gott’em)…but as a customer I did not understand what was going on (so I just observed…what else was there to look at…ya know…lol)…later I notice that the GM came out and walked the police officers down the road a little so that they would not remain standing directly in front of his establishment…(that’s bad for any business)…NEXT THING I KNOW I SEE THIS ARTICAL AND the one on channel 9 news and I HAD TO TELL MY OBSERVATION…
If you don’t like the noise, move to the suburbs. This is Charlotte being Mayberry.