SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO : Squelch Car Stereos, Petitions Urge City

Petitions bearing the signatures of 300 residents complaining of loud car stereos were presented to the City Council on Tuesday by a man who has staged a personal campaign that encourages citations for noise offenders.

Matthew Gilmore, 28, said loud bass notes and offensive rap music penetrating the closed doors and windows of his Casa de Capistrano condominium have invaded his family’s privacy.

“Home is supposed to be some form of relief from the world,” Gilmore said. “If you can’t get relief there, where can you?”

Gilmore asked the council to remedy the situation by ordering Orange County sheriff’s deputies to enforce a state law that is set to take effect Jan. 1. The law says car sound systems that can be heard more than 50 feet away are grounds for a citation.

“A lot of these problems will be cured by the so-called ‘boom-box’ law,” said Sheriff’s Lt. Dan Martini. “That citation factor will give us a much tighter grip. We also need to hear complaints from people before we can respond with a deputy.”

Gilmore said the city has its own law on disturbing the peace, which provides for measuring troublesome noise with a sound meter and citing violators.

“I doubt seriously that anybody has been prosecuted under that ordinance,” Gilmore said. “I’ve asked the city to repeal that law because it misleads people.”

The signatures were gathered from several neighborhoods in the city on petitions written in both English and Spanish, Gilmore said. He added that some people refused to sign the petition because they like loud music.