Newport Officials Turn Deaf Ear to Rodman’s Plea

In a surprise appearance at a Newport Beach City Council meeting, Dennis Rodman accused local leaders of singling him out for the raucous parties at his oceanfront home and pleaded with them not to stiffen noise restrictions.

But unlike his 40th birthday bash earlier this month and other rowdy parties that have brought police to Rodman’s home more than 50 times in the last year, the presentation by the NBA’s erstwhile bad boy fell on deaf ears.

The council voted 6-1 to give police broader arrest powers after listening to a vitriolic volley between Mayor Gary Adams and Rodman that sounded like an angry parent scolding a teenager.

Not that the outcome mattered to Rodman, who was marching out the door with his attorneys--and the television cameras--before the council took action. Once outside, he immediately said his partying days are far from over.

“I’m not going to change my lifestyle,” he told reporters on the steps of City Hall. “They’ve been trying to chase me out of here for two or three years now.”

Frustrated that fines against Rodman are not working and neighbors are unwilling to file formal complaints, city officials Tuesday expanded the list of banned noises, clarified a property owner’s liability and reclassified certain violations as misdemeanors.

Of all the revisions, the most important is requiring police to issue warnings to noise makers that they are being loud and unreasonable, giving them time to comply with the restrictions before an arrest is made.

The changes were made partly to allay the concerns of the Orange County district attorney’s office, which has repeatedly declined to press criminal charges against Rodman without testimony from neighbors who police say are unwilling to come forward after they complain.

“This will prove the willful element,” Deputy City Atty. Dan Ohl said.

If the code revisions are approved next week, as expected, the list of prohibited noises will include yelling, shouting, hooting, whistling, singing and playing music or a musical instrument, depending on the time of day or night, the noise level and frequency.

The City Council action comes less than two weeks after Rodman’s 40th birthday bash brought more than two dozen police officers, some of them in riot gear, to his oceanfront home.

Like the antics of his ball-playing days, Rodman’s run-ins with the Newport Beach police have been as colorful as the tattoos and piercings on his body.

Police say they have been called to his two-story, pink stucco house more than 50 times in the past year and receive far more complaints from his neighbors than from any other part of the city. He has been fined $8,500 for violating noise ordinances.

On May 12, when more than 100 guests and more than twice as many onlookers helped Rodman turn 40, he arrived with a dramatic--and illegal--helicopter landing on the beach. The guests were entertained by two bands, Live and Agrokulcher.