See Jefferson County and Colorado State Noise Abatement Regulations and The Noise FAQ.

On July 2nd 2004 @ 7:45pm, the playground was in use and the noise level was high. I set up my sound pressure level measurement equipment in my backyard, 25ft from the property line and set the meters to the "A" weighting scale. The air was calm.   See SPL Test Setup. Various measurements at sample points are shown below. The levels are over the allowable limits far much longer periods than is shown.

Normal human conversation is usually about 45dB(A) to 60dB(A).

A 10 dB increase is a tenfold increase in acoustic energy but is perceived as a doubling in loudness to the average person. The average person will judge a 10 dB change in sound level to be twice or half as loud.

These levels are not isolated incidents; these are the "normal" sound levels I experience in my backyard when the playground is in use by the Mercers children. The levels would be higher when the Mercers have guests.

Consider two "average" people having a conversation in my backyard. Any noise from the playground over 55dB(A) to 70dB(A) would be considered by the average person as TWICE AS LOUD as any conversation they were having at the time. This sound level prevents "average" people from having a normal conversation, due to the constant interruptions from the playground noise. I've been living with these excessive (and illegal) noise levels since the spring of 2000.

Remember that the maximum allowable noise level from a neighboring property is 55dB(A) before 7:00pm and only 50dB(A) after 7:00pm. And "periodic, impulsive OR shrill" sound limits are 5dB(A) LOWER than what is previously listed. The SPL measurements shown are over the limits for daytime AND evening Colorado State and Jefferson County limits, without even considering the "periodic, impulsive OR shrill" provision. The 66dB(A) measurement is 16dB(A) over the legal (after 7:00pm) limit. If the noise is considered "periodic, impulsive or shrill", then it's 21dB(A) over the legal limit.

When anyone describes a sound as "loud", it is a subjective description. Loud to one person may not be seem loud or annoying to another. When a State or County statute says "that the peace, health, safety and welfare of its citizens require protection from excessive, unnecessary and unreasonable noise.", that regulation must provide a method to measure sound to determine that the "noise" is or is not "excessive, unnecessary and unreasonable". The statutes do provide a usable and repeatable methodology which I have employed in my test setup.

Jeff Mercer has even admitted that one of his daughters has a "screaming problem" on May 22nd, 2001 and confirmed it again on June 23rd, 2004.

Many people assume that I am being oversensitive to the noise from the neighbors playground. I am single and have no children. It is reasonable that a parent with children would be less sensitive to playground noise than I am. Many people hear the neighbors playground noise from the street and don't consider it "loud" or "annoying". I agree, it's not loud or annoying from the street. Due to the playground placement between the houses (just 8' from my home), the sound reflects off their 2 story house and funnels directly into my home and backyard. The majority of the sound energy ends up in my yard, not in the street where others can hear it.

The sound pressure level measurements I have shown are clearly loud and excessive, and in violation of the Colorado State and Jefferson County noise abatement statutes. This is not my opinion, this is a measured fact.

None of my other neighbors have had another neighbor place a playground just 8' from their property line. In fact, I have never seen another example in ANY neighborhood of a playground placed so close to another neighbors house. None of my other neighbors have to deal with the "excessive, unnecessary and unreasonable noise" the Mercers have imposed on me for years. The noise levels are "excessive, unnecessary and unreasonable" as defined by the noise statues.

I challenge any "reasonable" person to claim that these noise levels would be acceptable to them in THEIR backyard, at any time of the day or evening (the playground is routinely in use to 8pm and later). Imagine this level of noise in YOUR backyard, you can't have a normal conversation, you can't talk on the phone, you can't EVER plan to spend time in your yard, since you NEVER know when excessive noise will occur.

Imagine you can't open your windows without that excessive noise being excessive INSIDE your home. Imagine having to turn up the volume on your TV set inside YOUR home to hear it over the excessive noise coming from your neighbors property.

The Mercers claim "it's our yard". They are correct, it is their yard. The activities they allow in their yard, just 8' from MY HOME allows THEIR NOISE to enter MY PROPERTY at excessive levels. Living in a neighborhood means it's impossible to never hear another neighbor, we simply live too close together, so some amount of "noise" leaking over the property line is a fact of life. At some point, any noise (even pleasant sounds), can become a disturbance if it's too loud.

What is "too loud"? The State of Colorado and Jefferson County have clearly written noise statutes that define "too loud" and the noise coming from the Mercers playground is in violation of those noise statutes.