As someone who lived for several years right across the street from a large high school in Arlington - Washington and Lee - I know what it's like to hear the noises of sporting events at all hours of the day and night. For whatever reason, it never really bothered my housemates or me much, and even if it did, we never thought of calling our Delegate and asking him to write a bill shutting down the games. Well, apparently some people get more upset about these things than my friends and I did, and hence we have the raging controversy over House Bill 1368, what I'll call the "Quiet in the Cul de Sacs" bill. According to the Washington Post:
The fine print of House Bill 1368 is far-reaching. Any private or public athletic field in Virginia, even a swimming pool, would be banned from use before 8 a.m. and after 6 p.m. Monday through Saturday and all day Sunday without the unanimous written consent of all homeowners within 65 feet of the field. A team or league in violation would face fines. And that's not all: Aggrieved homeowners could sue for damages.
Needless to say, this seems a bit of an overreach, sort of like last year's ridiculous "baggy pants" bill, which imposed a $50 fine on people who let their pants slip down enough to reveal their underwear in public. Luckily, that bill died an ignominious death. Now, we've got a bill that only lawyers - and certain homeowners, apparently - could love. I can just see it now: your quiet evening on the cul-de-sac is shattered by the sounds of...gunfire? firecrackers? squealing tires? No, how about a bunch of happy, cheering 10-year-olds whose team has just scored the winning soccer goal. Seems to me that most people would say, "aw, isn't that nice, remember when we were young?" But apparently others would pick up their phone and call their lawyer: "sue the bastards for all they've got!!"
Ahhh...life in suburbia, circa 2006. Just one thought for homeowners so angry over noise from ball fields and schoolyards: HELLO?!? Didn't you think of that when you freakin' BOUGHT YOUR HOUSE?!? Geez, how dumb can people be. I mean, it's not like they just built the new Nationials' ballpark right next door to your house. Now Major League Baseball, THEM I might want to sue, but that's another story. Meanwhile, it looks like there's not going to be much quiet in the cul de sacs for a while. How about a bill forbidding people from fighting over this dumb bill? On second thought, sorry I mentioned it...
P.S. The bill summary reads: "Creates the Home Serenity and Tranquility Act, which prohibits the operation on an athletic field owned or operated by a public or private entity of any event (i) before the hour of eight o'clock in the morning, (ii) after the hour of six o'clock in the evening, or (iii) on Sunday without the unanimous written consent of the affected homeowners. The bill defines athletic field, homeowner, and affected homeowner. The bill provides a civil penalty for violation and gives an aggrieved homeowner a cause of action for violations."