Eugene and Natalie Foley came home on a recent Sunday afternoon to find the walls of their Charnwood Drive home in Wilkins vibrating from the beat of a loud music system.
"I got out of the car and thought that my neighbor had lost it," said Mr. Foley, a retired accountant. Incensed by his neighbor's temerity, he immediately walked over to ask that the music be turned down a number of notches.
But standing in his longtime neighbor's backyard, Mr. Foley, 67, a more than 40-year resident of the neighborhood, quickly discovered that the source of the noise was another neighbor: Pittsburgh East Nissan, the car dealership situated on an embankment down the hill from his home.
"They had a live band playing in a tent and the music was so loud that we couldn't ignore it," he said. "I went down to talk with the manager of the dealership and he told me he was doing it for a charity event. I told him to turn down the music and he was very disrespectful and even dared me to call the police."
Mr. Foley did. The police came, but he didn't feel that they resolved the issue in his or his next-door neighbors' favor.
That June 3 incident touched off a push for what some residents of the Eastmont neighborhood--a hillside community just off business Route 22--say is a much-needed revision or more stringent enforcement of the Wilkins noise ordinance.
"We are tired of having to listen to this noise being piped into our homes. We want to see the township enforce its noise ordinance," Natalie Foley, accompanied by two of her neighbors, told the Wilkins board of commissioners at a recent public meeting.
Citing key provisions of Wilkins' noise ordinance, the residents said they were angered by the township's lack of action against the Nissan dealership, which they said was clearly flouting the township's law.
But Wilkins officials contend the case is not so clear-cut.
Police Officer Tony DeMarco told the commissioners that the officer who responded to the residents' noise complaint did not think that the car dealership was in violation of the ordinance.
"[The officer] went down there and he talked to them, and he even asked them to turn around some of their music speakers, but he didn't think the music was too loud," Mr. DeMarco said.
What is more, he added, the dealership was not in violation of the township's noise ordinance because it sits more than 50 feet away from the homes. According to Mr. DeMarco, the township's ordinance cannot be enforced during the day if the noise is beyond 50 feet.
The residents disagree.
"I am dissatisfied by how the township is handling this. If they don't think the ordinance applies, then they should change it," Mr. Foley said. "We have been living here longer than that dealership has been here and we would like to live in a peaceful neighborhood."
On his part, Mike McWilliams, owner of the car dealership, said that he didn't think that the music from the charity event he hosted on June 3 terribly affected his neighbors.
"We had a charity function. It was a motorcycle ride to benefit the Make-A-Wish Foundation. The band played as loud as most bands play from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. and we raised more than $65,000," Mr. McWilliams said.
Noting that he has not had a noise complaint from his neighbors in almost two years, Mr. McWilliams said he turned down the volume on the speakers when he was asked.
But Mr. Foley and his neighbors said the music was played throughout the day and that nothing significant was done to reduce the disturbance.
"I am sorry if I inconvenienced anybody. I want to be a good neighbor," Mr. McWilliams said. He noted that since he opened his dealership in the area in 2004, the only noise complaints he received from his neighbors were about the outdoor public announcement system.
"We turned down the volume on our outdoor system and since then we have not had any noise problems with our neighbors," he said.
Wilkins Manager Rebecca Bradley said the township is in ongoing talks with the dealership and will, in the future, work to notify residents if the dealership plans to hold events with loud music.
Citing this as a one-time occurrence in which tempers were quick to flare, Ms. Bradley said, " I understand the concerns of the residents. It surely wasn't [Mr. McWilliams] intention to rile up his neighbors. He has been working with me to see how we can mitigate the noise issues in that area, while also making sure that he can continue to run his business."
First Published: June 21, 2007, 10:15 a.m.
