By Kyle Monson
It''s Friday night in Provo and the bands are out in force. The noise from two side-by-side house parties fills the streets south of campus, as each band tries to lure listeners away from the other party.
One by one, three squad cars turn the corner onto the street and are spotted by partiers loitering outside.
The warning spreads into the parties, until the bands get the message: turn down, quick! One of the bands ends its song and stops altogether.
After several minutes of waiting, the band members decide to cut ahead to the quiet part of their set, and the guitar player gently starts strumming the opening chords of Radiohead''s 'Fake Plastic Trees.'
A minute into the song, a police officer comes into the house and quietly listens. The band is bolder on the next tune, turning the amps up slightly and drumming a little harder. After a few minutes, the officer speaks up: 'Play something by the Police!'
Danger averted.
The rules for throwing a successful - and legal - party are murky in Provo, where the City Council has been passing and amending city ordinances for parties. The most recent, passed unanimously in May, is called a Commercial Entertainment Business Security Ordinance. It requires dance parties that have an entrance fee to adhere to strict guidelines that may include having metal detectors, licensed security guards and security perimeters.
Certain groups like school, government or church groups are exempt from the ordinance. Political fund-raisers, weddings and charity events can also be exempt.
As long as the party is free, a house party can''t be shut down because of the ordinance, said Paul Janda, a Provo community policing officer.
Janda jokingly explained the rule for policing parties: 'If we like the music, we let you go longer.'
'Seriously, though, we work on a complaint basis,' he said.
According to Provo city noise regulations, nighttime residential noise limits are 60 decibels, and 'production of such noise is unlawful and constitutes a misdemeanor.'
Janda pointed out that 60 decibels isn''t extremely loud, but added officers won''t usually take a noise level reading, leaving it up to residents to report noise excesses.
'If it''s not disturbing anybody, we realize it''s a college town and people want to have fun,' he said.
Provo police policy is to show up at the party to issue the first warning. If they have to respond again to complaints, the party thrower will receive up to a $500 fine.
'There was one party that we tried to shut down but people wouldn''t leave,' Janda said. 'The host turned the garden hose on them so he wouldn''t have to pay the fine.'
Janda''s main tip for party-throwers is to not charge an entrance fee. He warned that charging at the door makes the owner or renter of the property susceptible to liability lawsuits if someone gets hurt, besides falling under the confines of Provo''s party ordinance.
Janda also said it''s the neighborhood complaints that force police to shut a party down. Letting neighbors know about an upcoming party can go a long way, he said.
'We get calls at 8 at night, and the party doesn''t seem that loud, but sometimes we have to shut them down even if we don''t think it''s that loud because it is a violation and someone complained,' he said.