Letter to
Livermore City
Council

Data Collection

• Understanding how large of an issue this neighborhood is facing needed quantifiable data. Using one of my security cameras, I used the audio feed and audio analysis software to detect fireworks. Although this worked some of the time, only by enabling detection for explosions were most of the fireworks then detected. This is mostly due to the fact that what is being detonated over our neighborhood classifies as arial mortars. These are not the pretty light show fireworks but more similar to percussion grenades where you feel the explosion in your chest while shaking the doors and windows of your home.
• Since June 25 2024, this system has detected 320 individual events during almost every hour of the day and evening spreading to a total of 75 days of detections. My system is currently limited to only detecting less than an eighth of a mile radius. Roughly only one tenth of the neighborhood that is known to have year round fireworks.
• One gathering in our neighborhood, I recorded an 80 dba reading at roughly 100' from the source, which is equivalent to a diesel train at 45 mph.
• An 80 dBA sound is 1000 times more intense than a 50 dBA sound, which in most cities is their baseline for appropriate noise during the day. This party then finished off the night detonating multiple fireworks after 1am. This is not an uncommon occurrence year round.

Impact on community

Fireworks

• Fireworks are no longer saved for celebrations, but a year round assault on the north Livermore community.
• Safety concerns have been reported. For example, a firework went into an infant's bedroom while they were sleeping. Luckily it did not strike the infant but it did scare the family and neighbors.
• Mortars, loud firework bombs, have been detonated over girl's softball games in the middle of the day and scares the children and families due to the sound resembling gun shots.
• Neighbors are frequently complaining about the negative impact of fireworks on their pets. Their animals will either shake, hide, or sometimes run away at the sound of a firework. It's easy to prepare pets for moments when fireworks are expected, like 4th of July or new years; however, when it's this unpredictable, there's no way to prepare them for the noise. This also relates to those with PTSD who are suffering due to those same circumstances around unpredictability.

Noise

• When reporting a noise complaint, community members are asked to complete a citation against a neighbor, thus putting it on the resident instead of the city. This deters residents from filing due to the risk of retaliation.
• Frequent exposure to continuous amplified music at levels above 70 dBA disturbs those within range and impacts their indoor and outdoor activities. Activities impacted include sleeping, engaging in conversations outside, reading, hosting guests, attending meetings from their home office and other activities.

Policies and Change

• While collecting this data, it led me down the rabbit hole of city policies and ordinances, mostly how other cities have improved the quality of life for their residents.
• Other city policies allow city employees and firefighters to issue fines directly to the property owner, through the mail and avoiding confrontation.
• Sand City, with a population a third of Livermore, has invested in audio detection equipment that allows officers to track the location of gunshots, explosions/fireworks, squealing tires and glass breaking within 90 feet.
• Livermore is the only city in Alameda and Contra Costa county that does not have an enforceable noise ordinance for daytime residential areas.
• In fact, Livermore does not enforce the baseline daytime noise ordinance that Alameda County has in place.