Loud speakers on the river: Driscoll's $2,000 fine bill gets a hearing Wednesday

Council's Committee on Licenses and Inspections will take up a bill on loud music on the water on Wednesday, Oct. 28, at 10 a.m. in Room 400 of City Hall (meeting page). It is the only item on the agenda.

Bill 260702, from 6th District Councilmember Mike Driscoll, would add a new chapter to the city code on "Sound Amplification Devices on Public Bodies of Water." For people who live along the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers, or who use the creeks and lakes in city parks, it would set a clear rule for speakers on boats and floats.

What the bill says

According to the bill text:

• Nobody swimming in, floating on, or operating a vessel on a public body of water could use a sound amplification device that is "plainly audible" more than 100 feet away.
• "Plainly audible" means a sound someone can hear without a hearing aid or other device.
• "Public body of water" includes ponds, lakes, creeks and rivers in the city that are legally open to the public.
• Covered devices include speakers, public address systems, bullhorns and megaphones.
• Exceptions cover preventing accidents, emergencies and law enforcement.
• The fine is $2,000 per occurrence. The law would take effect immediately.

The bill says it does not limit any other law that covers the same conduct.

The background: boom-car parties

The 100-foot standard and $2,000 fine match Driscoll's earlier law on "nuisance vehicles," cars playing sound that can be heard more than 100 feet away. That bill passed in 2023 after complaints about late-night car gatherings along the Delaware riverfront, the Inquirer reported. It also lets police seize vehicles. The measure became law that September, the Northeast Times reported.

The noise crosses the river. In 2024, officials in Burlington County, N.J., asked Mayor Cherelle L. Parker to crack down on the gatherings. Driscoll responded that the law already existed and the problem was enforcement, 6abc reported. New Jersey has its own standard, which sets a fine when vehicle music is plainly audible from 50 feet, PhillyVoice reported.

What our records add

• Sole sponsor. Driscoll introduced the bill alone on Sept. 17. No other members have signed on.
• Timing. Wednesday's hearing comes 41 days after introduction, faster than many bills that have waited months in committee.
• Same-day introductions. Driscoll introduced Bill 260703 the same day. It would bar self-storage facilities in the Sixth District Overlay and goes before the Rules Committee on Oct. 27.

The bill does not say which agency would enforce it on the water. That may come up at the hearing: in 2024, Driscoll himself said the problem with the car law was enforcement, not the rule.

What's next

If the committee approves the bill Wednesday, it could get a first reading at Council's Oct. 29 session and a final vote as early as Nov. 12. Public testimony is taken at the hearing. Later that day, the Legislative Oversight Committee holds its hearing on jail health care.