I used to think that people who buy or who built houses adjacent to existing golf courses and then complained about golf balls hitting their houses or landing in their yards were the dumbest people on the planet. Why would you think that being adjacent to a facility that features people playing a game poorly are not going to hit multiple errant shots on a regular basis? One couple that lived along a hole at a Massachusetts country club actually sued the course claiming that the constant striking of their house by sliced tee shots was causing them significant mental health issues and force them to keep their children inside all of the time. Initially, the country club tried putting up a net in an effort to deflect bad shots–but their members just kept finding ways to hit that house.
For some reason, an equally-clueless jury initially ruled in favor of the homeowners–awarding them $5,000,000 for damages, pain, and suffering. If I had been the attorney representing the country club, I would have made everyone in that jury and the homeowners themselves hit 25-balls each from the tee box on the hole and see how many times they avoided hitting the house. It would have been a slam dunk for the defense. But that was not the legal strategy employed, and the club lost. Fortunately, an appeals judge–who likely is a golfer–reversed that ruling and sensibly found that A: Recreational golfers are not that skilled to avoid any errant shots, and B: That people who live next to golf courses should expect wayward golf balls to come flying in at any time.
But now that I’ve spent multiple hours listening to people who live in downtown Appleton complain about noise in that area, I have to wonder if the golf course complainers should be supplanted at the top of my list.
Just this week, the Appleton Board of Health and the Safety and Licensing Committee had to spend two hours first listening to Alder Martyn Smith make arguments for conducting a data collection study on noise levels in the entertainment district and to commit more law enforcement resources to crack down on it. Mind you, Appleton Police are already making a concerted effort to focus on noise enforcement–issuing ever-increasing warnings and citations this year. But that isn’t enough for Alder Smith. He also pitched the idea of setting up a camera system that wouldn’t show video or pictures of excessively-loud vehicles for ticketing and enforcement efforts (you can thank Flock for that)–but would just log all of the suspected noise violations.
Then, tenants in some of the new high-density apartment towers in the College Avenue area took to the microphone to describe their sleepless nights, scared pets, and inabilities to have conversations while sitting at those sidewalk restaurant tables that take up space to walk along the Ave. They too demanded more police presence in the area and more tickets be written. And the whole time they were complaining the only thought in my head was “Well, what did you expect?”
Downtown Appleton is no louder today than it was when I was a young man and would occasionally patronize the downtown bars. There were extremely loud cars and people blasting extremely loud music in the 1990’s just like today. People came down there to be seen and heard–just like they are doing today (except there are now countless videos posted to social media platforms). What is different today is that more people are trying to live in the middle of a city–and now all of a sudden, noise in the entertainment district is a public health “crisis”.
For that, city leaders themselves should take some of the blame. What used to be offices or other business operations that would usually be staffed from 9-to-5 and empty at night have been converted into living spaces–which are usually empty during regular business hours and are occupied mainly at night. This was an intentional choice to mix residential development in an area well known for its nightlife and car culture. At no point did anyone on planning or zoning committees or on the Appleton Common Council itself ask when considering approval of these developments “How are these people going to deal with the noise at night?”
But the vast majority of the blame must go to those who still willingly choose to live in that area. I’m sure that if you were to ask them on the day they moved into those downtown apartments why they wanted to live there, they would have excitedly told you that they couldn’t wait to be part of a “vibrant downtown community” with “so many entertainment and dining options within walking distance” (although, I’d be willing to bet they are the highest users of food delivery services in the city). Well, part of that “vibrant community” is cruising the Ave well into the wee hours of the night–often times with your friends and their equally obnoxious vehicles right behind you or racing you to the next stop light. What those apartment dwellers really mean is “I want a bunch of stuff to do close to my place, well, until I want to go to bed–and then everyone else should go home too.”
Those complaints were then followed by comments from several other alders about the noise issues in their wards. Some complained about the traffic din from Interstate 41 on the north side of the city. Others complained about fireworks throughout the summer. But still, no one just admitted that living in a city is loud. Plain and simple. And to expect anything other than that is folly. If you want quiet all night, move to Eagle River, or Gresham, or Alma.
The post-World War II exodus from the inner cities of America to the suburbs is often labeled as “white flight”, meaning that once white Americans had the means to pay for it–and communities outside of the big cities had the infrastructure and housing development space available–they moved to get away from Blacks. But leaving the inner city for the ‘burbs was more about getting away from noise if anything. Whenever I ride a Metra train into Chicago–or take the L through the Loop–and the cars pass within a few feet of apartment buildings that are more than 100-years old, I understand why those GI’s did all they could get out of that area. Today, all of these young people raised in those quiet suburbs are rushing to get back into urban living situations that are cramped and noisy on the belief that it is somehow better for themselves and “the planet”.
And those clamoring for a quiet city should probably know that it’s racist. I save an article from The Atlantic magazine written by Xochitl Gonzalez in September of 2022 entitled “Why do Rich People Love Quiet? The sound of gentrification is silence” for arguments just like this. Gonzalez claims that minorities are generally louder and are not as bothered by noise. She believes it is what made the Brooklyn neighborhood in which she grew up “vibrant” and “comfortable”. But once up-scale white people started moving into renovated and upgraded tenements in the borough, complaints about noise increased. She also points to an effort in New York City to target noise violations–which resulted in far more citations being issued to people of color than to whites. Gonzalez’s piece was so respected that it was a finalist for a Pulitzer Prize in commentary. So which way do you think Appleton alders will go when representatives of minority advocacy groups come to them after noise crackdown efforts and complain that here too more people of color are getting cited and arrested?
I have a feeling that regardless of what Appleton officials choose to do about what some people think is “too much noise”, complaints will continue to mount. There are still more downtown residential developments on the drawing board–including one that would have people living above the main bus station in the city! The redevelopment of the Thrivent property into high-density housing will put thousands more people within earshot of Interstate 41. There will almost certainly be petitions to erect sound barriers at additional cost to taxpayers–even though it is plain for everyone to see that a high-volume expressway is located right there–and has been there for decades.
I would love to recommend that those so disturbed by the urban noise cacophony check out places in the more rural parts of our state–but that will just lead to more odor complaints and lawsuits targeting the farms that have also been there for generations.
