Tina

2:25 AM Sunday August 31, 2014

Awakened once again this morning to the sound of a leaf blower being used at in the Broadway Garage parking structure. Same worker as yesterday morning. Called the Walnut Creek Police Dept at 2:34 AM and observed the patrol car arrive at 2:57 AM. The officer spoke to the worker until 2:59 AM then parked for a short time. The worker turned the leaf blower back on and continued to use it until the officer drove over and spoke to him. After that, the officer drove away and the maintenance worker went downstairs. Within a few minutes the sound of sweeping became evident. The leaf blower was turned on again at approximately 6:00 AM but seems to have moved to another location perhaps within the parking structure or elsewhere. I took a 20 second video with audio but this site will not allow upload. Available upon request,

3:20 AM Saturday August 30, 2014.

Hello, Nancy: For a couple weeks now I have marveled that the noise of parking lot cleaning in the wee hours of the morning had essentially stopped. Since my request for assistance from the Code Enforcement Division of the Community Development Department to put a stop to such cleaning, there were a couple of days when cleaning and sweeping continued to be performed, but for the most part mornings have been quiet and I do want to thank you. That is, until today.

I was again awakened at 3:20 AM by the sound of a leaf blower starting up. It sounded very, very close so I went out on my balcony, looked in the direction of the Broadway Parking Garage and observed a lone man in a dark shirt with a white name patch on it and dark pants standing next to a white truck on the top-most level of the parking structure with a leaf blower in his hand aimed at the truck. He went all around the truck with the leaf blower, then proceeded out into the parking lot with the leaf blower. He walked around for about 2 minutes then went down the stairs. The truck is still parked on the top level. Following his departure, the only noise that continued to be generated was the annoying sound of sweeping.

I attempted to take a video with my phone, however I was unable to capture the scene because of the darkness. A couple of photos are lit well enough and you can see the parking structure, however the man with the leaf blower is not visible.

I don't know what this person thinks he's doing at three in the morning on a Saturday, but apparently he or his manager did not receive the memo that noise from leaf blowers and other maintenance equipment is prohibited before 8:00 a.m. on weekdays and 9:00 a.m. on weekends and holidays (§4-6.203g), or for exempted businesses, before 7:00 a.m. on weekdays which are not holidays (§4-6.205 b).

This action and previously reported actions clearly violate the City of Walnut Creek municipal code under both of the above-cited sections of Title 4, Article 2.

In any case these incidents constitute a public nuisance so perhaps the Chief of Police or the Community Development Director should also address this problem directly.

I am again requesting that the City enforce the provisions of the municipal code by compelling its contractors to comply, or charge them either as an infraction under Title 1, Chapter 2 §1-2.01 with appropriate fines, or as a misdemeanor under §1, Ord. 1753 with imprisonment in the county jail for a period not to exceed six months, or by a fine not exceeding $1000.00, or by both fine and imprisonment.

If the City of Walnut Creek and its contractors fail to comply with City codes and ordinances, who should?

Thank you.

On August 4th I left the following comment on an earlier reported violation (7/31/14). That report was acknowledged and I thank you for your time in doing so. The issue continues, however, and is of great concern. Please follow below the quoted comment for the current situation and suggested remedy:
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Tina (Registered User)
Hi Nancy,

Well here we are again between 11:39 PM and 1:17 AM on Sunday night, Aug 3 and the guy with the power tool (leaf blower, power washer, whatever it is, it's loud) is back on duty. Can't say where the guy is located because he seems to be moving around; the noise fades and can be heard off in the distance toward the west, then back to the east. Thanks for any assistance. 2014-08-04 · Flag
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This morning, August 11 at 2:12 AM, I was awakened by the familiar sound of machinery running. The sound has come to be identified as some sort of cleaning equipment used by the maintenance company that cleans the downtown city garages. This noise woke me up 16 times during the night until I finally got out of bed at 4:34 AM; the noise continued until approximately 4:45 AM.

Please advise as to the progess you are making to resolve this issue. If the department responsible for dealing with this issue needs some sort of proof or confirmation that this noise issue is indeed a problem, I can arrange for a petition from downtown residents who can attest to it. Or, perhaps the Mayor, City Council, the responsible department head, and the owner of the maintenance company would like to sleep over at my downtown condominium for a week so they can experience the situation first hand.

I'm sure there are a number of ways the governing department can correct this problem. In the meantime, I will take this opportunity to make a suggestion:

There are 3 city-owned parking garages and 3 privately-owned parking garages (Regional Parking) in the downtown area. I suggest that maintenance can be scheduled for one garage per day, two smaller ones on one day (M-F) between the hours of 5 AM and 7 AM, thereby containing the cacophony of noise in the downtown area to a shorter, later time frame.

Please advise as to the status of the reported noise abatement problem and consider the suggestion offered.

Thank you.

At 3:13 AM on July 31, I was awakened to the sound of a high volume motor similar to that of a leaf blower. I have heard this noise several times a week at approximately the same early-morning hour, and have determined that it is coming from two places that I personally observed by walking over to these locations after being awakened. The first is Broadway Pointe Garage. The second is So. Locust St Garage. Another reporter cited the Broadway Garage as well in a post on July 30. When I walked over to the So. Locust St Garage this morning around 3:30 AM, I observed a truck with the name and phone number, "Commercial Maintenance" (650) 548-0111 written on the door panels. There were several men standing nearby and a very loud noise was emanating from something that I could not identify.
Separately, but similarly, it has been the practice of the garbage truck company(s) to start garbage pick up around 4:00 AM in the downtown area.
I can understand that the City has to contract these services and that there may be special permissions in place that waive the requirements of city noise abatement ordinances. However, if that is not the case, can the City arrange with the service providers to begin services at a later hour so that the untenable noises produced will not disturb downtown residents at an unacceptable hour of the morning?
Thank you for considering these issues.