The Zapopan City Council has approved a new city ordinance to deal with businesses and individuals who disturb the lives of others by making excessive noise.
To ensure payment of fines issued for breaking local regulations governing noise levels allowable at different times of the day, City Hall will now add the fines on to a business owner and resident’s annual property tax (predial).
Only one member of the City Council, Dulce Sarahí Cortés, voted against the measure. She said there is no verifiable way of confirming that the owner of the property is the one exceeding the allowed decibel level.
In Zapopan, occupants of residential properties must maintain noise levels below 50 decibels between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m., and 55 decibels from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. For industrial and commercial businesses, the upper limits are 68 and 65 decibels, respectively, for the above time schedules. (The levels are similar for the Guadalajara municipality.)
Ceremonies, festivals and entertainment events are permitted at a 100-decibel maximum over four hours.
The approach of Zapopan police is to first issue a warning to people in residential properties making excessive noise, and a sanction only if they ignore the request after 30 minutes.
The fines range from 2,000 to 40,000 pesos.