COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PHILADELPHIA COMMITTEE ON LICENSES AND INSPECTIONS Room 400, City Hall Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Wednesday, October 28, 2026 10:10 a.m. PRESENT: COUNCILMAN MICHAEL DRISCOLL, CHAIR COUNCILWOMAN KATHERINE GILMORE RICHARDSON COUNCILMAN NICOLAS O'ROURKE
Well, good morning all. I now note that the hour has come. Ms. McDonald, will you please call the roll to take attendance. Members that are in attendance, please indicate that you are present when your name is called.
Present. Thank you. A quorum of the committee is present and this hearing is now called to order. This is the public hearing of the Committee on Licenses and Inspections regarding Bill No. 17 260702. Ms. McDonald, will you please read the title of the bill.
Bill No. 21 260702, adding a new Chapter 22 21-3800 to The Philadelphia Code, entitled Sound Amplification Devices on Public Bodies of Water,” to establish certain restrictions related to the use of sound amplification devices and provide for remedies for violations, all under certain terms and conditions.
Miss McDonald, will you please call the first panel we have to testify this morning on Bill No. 260702.
Francis Healy, Deputy Commissioner of Legal Affairs, Philadelphia Police Department. (Witness approached witness table.)
Good morning, Deputy Commissioner. Please state your name for the record and please proceed with your testimony. DEPUTY COMMISSIONER HEALY: Good morning, Chairperson Driscoll and other members of the committee. My name is Deputy Commissioner Francis Healy from the Philadelphia Police Department. I'm the Deputy Commissioner of Legal Affairs and the Chief of Staff for Commissioner Kevin Bethel. On behalf of the Commissioner, first, thank you for allowing the Police Department the opportunity to offer testimony in support of Bill No. 260702, introduced by the Chairman. This bill adds a new Chapter 21-308 -- or 3800 to The Philadelphia Code to set clear standards for sound amplification devices on city public bodies of water, including its ponds, lakes, creeks and rivers. Under the bill, no one swimming in, floating upon or operating a water vessel in these areas may use sound amplification devices at a level that is plainly audible more than 100 feet. The bill defines its terms broadly and plainly: Sound amplification devices include portable speakers, bullhorns, megaphones and public address systems and water vessels, including boats, flotation devices and floating structures. Because the standard is based on what a person can hear unaided at 100 feet, it can be applied in the field without specialized sound meter equipment. The bill also protects the legitimate safety use of amplification on the waterways. It does not apply to devices that prevent an accident or to seek to provide help in an emergency or, in connection with law enforcement violations, carry a fine of $2,000 per occurrence, and the chapter 23 does not limit any other law enforcement law that addresses the same conduct by setting consistent, enforceable rules for amplified sound on the water. This ordinance protects the quality of life for the residents, visitors, and equally important, our neighbors along the other side of the river while preserving the tools needed to keep people safe. For these reasons, the Philadelphia Police Department supports this bill and its adoption. And I'm happy to answer any questions at this time.
Well, thank you, Deputy Commissioner. And I just want to state for the record not only on this topic, but a lot of the topics that are quality-of-life issues, your department has worked very well with this committee and we appreciate that. And I wanted to state that for the record. I'll remind the members of the committee, a couple of years ago we passed what I called a Boom Party bill. When I first came to City Council from the state legislature, I didn't know what a boom party was. But I learned pretty quickly that it was this gathering of folks, either through text messages or emails that gather on a certain spot, an impromptu. And then they opened their cars and they have these giant sound amplification equipment and they wreak havoc to the neighborhood. And I personally live right on the Delaware River. Our office was getting complaints all the way as far as Cinnaminson, New Jersey, Delran, New Jersey, all the way over there. We were disturbing their peace as well as my neighbors and constituents on the Delaware River. So when we passed that bill, where we could find the owner of the vehicle, $2,000 and/or confiscate the car. We began to enforce that. We noticed an immediate difference, not only along the Delaware River but other spots in the city that had this unruly behavior. So your department's enforcement made a difference. Of course, as usual with quality-of- life issues, folks decide to get around the law. So those that were gathering at the river before they were going into the river and having their pre- or post-parties, they decided after we were enforcing that they were going to take their parties out onto the waterways. And so, this was a rough summer for that. I know we're going to have testimony from a near neighbor and the head of the civic association that lives right there that's going to share some thoughts with us as well. But I think this is a good step by the legislature here to rein it back in and let them know that we're not going to tolerate that on the river. So once again, thank you for your efforts. And I'd like to recognize Member Gilmore Richardson.
Well, thank you so much, Mr. Chair. Thank you for introducing this legislation, as I call it Part 2 of the legislative package seeking to address this most important quality-of-life issue. And thank you to Deputy Commissioner Healy and to your entire team relative to enforcement of this issue. I know that my colleague and our Chair talked about the challenges in the Northeast section of Philadelphia, but we too, in the community where I reside, also were dealing with this challenge relative to Belmont Plateau. And we have seen the enforcement efforts of PPD to really help the community with this challenge. Although Belmont Plateau seems as if it's pretty far from a residential community, we have the Wynnefield Heights community, which Councilmember Jones represents in the 4th Council District, and also Wynnefield proper. And believe it or not, all the way where I live in Wynnefield we could hear -- not only can we hear the Mann Music Center when they have gatherings, but we can also hear these boom parties. And so, we wanted to say thank you for the necessary enforcement that we've been seeing around the Belmont Plateau area in specific. We believe it's been helpful as a community to curtail some of the activity that was happening prior to the passage of Chairman Driscoll's bill. And I will say that as I travel from Wynnefield to City Hall very frequently, I see a number of the PD Water Fleet-operated boats on the water on the Schuylkill. I've been seeing more and more boats so I just wanted to ask, and I'm curious, how those efforts have been going thus far. Have you all expanded your water fleet? Because I feel like I see more of the boats on the river now. DEPUTY COMMISSIONER HEALY: Not specifically, not any specific operations. I mean, their job is to patrol the waterways. And this summer specifically, we had a lot of people out. So having officers on the water in the event someone went in the water was always a good thing. But they're always patrolling up and down both the Delaware as well as the Schuylkill, but they're out there all the time.
And let me ask you this question, because I've been seeing more of this. Particularly in the summers, we'll walk the Schuylkill River Trail. But when we walk through the park from home all the way down to Grays Ferry, I've noticed in those walks that we see more recreational boats on the water than ever before. What are the rules there? DEPUTY COMMISSIONER HEALY: The rules regarding recreational?
Boats, recreational boats on the water and as far as traffic flow and control. I think I see more recreational boats on the water than I ever have. DEPUTY COMMISSIONER HEALY: Well, the lower end of the Schul --
Yeah, the jet skis in particular. DEPUTY COMMISSIONER HEALY: The lower end of the Schuylkill is tidal so the boats can come in off the Delaware. I mean, they're bound by -- there's rules of the road for the waterways on how to operate the boats. And that's actually what the Fish Commission -- Fish and Boat Commission, I'm sorry, actually actively enforce those regulations and so does my Marine Unit, if there's violations. With the personal water -- I forget what you call them -- the jet skis and stuff like that --
Yeah, the jet skis. DEPUTY COMMISSIONER HEALY: -- jet skis are a boat. For all intents and purposes, they have to comply with all the rules and regulations of the boating regulations in the Pennsylvania Code. But there's a whole code, much like there's a vehicle code. There's a code for operating boats on the water as well, making sure they have life jackets. And during certain times of the year, your boat smaller than some, you have to have a life jacket. So there's a whole bunch of rules governing how to operate a boat on the waterways in Pennsylvania.
All right. But have you all seen an uptick in recreational activity? DEPUTY COMMISSIONER HEALY: I don't personally know. I mean, the issue during the summertime is it's always a spike. I mean, the jet skis are out all the time and the jet skis are the bane of every big boater's existence because they (inaudible), but everybody has to share the waterway. And it's our job to make sure that it's done safely and that everybody abides by the rules.
Okay. Well, thank you so much. And thank you again, Chairman Driscoll, for all of your work on this most recent bill to address this quality-of-life issue, not only for our constituents in Philadelphia, but for our neighbors and our friends across the river. So thank you.
Well, thank you, Leader Gilmore Richardson. And not just on these sort of issues, but you've been a champion of the quality-of-life issues on our business corridors and in our neighborhoods. And it's really sad that those of you that know my Chief of Staff Tom Forkin, he's coined the phrase, post-COVID aberrant behavior, acceptance of aberrant behavior, which it seemed like after COVID, a lot of folks had a lot of pent-up frustration and they decided that the rules don't apply anymore. Like red light's a maybe. A yellow light's a I'm going through it. Stop sign is a maybe, maybe I'll stop, maybe I won't. And I'm turning my volume up as loud as I damn well please, whether it's at my home, whether it's at a party, whether it's out on the water. And we don't want to be introducing bills and overregulating. That's not what we want to do. We feel like we've been forced into this position so that we can grab back the attention of the folks that are just misbehaving and just aren't being good neighbors anymore. And so, I was at a community group on Friday, the Delaire Landing, and they were a little mad at me that we had passed the speed camera legislation on Frankford Avenue. They felt like miles 20 an hour was too slow. And I 21 pointed out to them, you don't get 22 ticketed until you're going 36 23 miles per hour, so you do have a 24 little leeway there. I'm not encouraging them to do that because Frankford is very dangerous. But I will say, as Tom Forkin pointed out, that aberrant behavior post- COVID, Frankford Avenue became a speedway. They've been flying up and down there. And just two Fridays ago, right where the cameras are at Morrell and Knights Road on Frankford, we had another fatality. And so, I'm hearing from your officers, Deputy Commissioner, that they are seeing a down -- actually better behavior of the drivers along Frankford Avenue. And that's what we're trying to do. We're not trying to give $100 ticket to the owner of the vehicle. We're trying to get their attention to slow the heck down and be courteous to their neighbors, stop these fatalities. And we have kids going back and forth. Right in front of my office, folks want to run over and get a cup of coffee at Wawa. Well, they don't look. And we have bad things happen. So I just kind of want to let it out there that we're not trying to be the big brother and do so much to stop people. DEPUTY COMMISSIONER HEALY: Well, if I can say one thing. What you've done is you've given us tools. Okay. And the issue, police departments use discretion. I mean, the first interaction an officer has with somebody with these boom boxes is not a $2,000 fine. They often try to negotiate to shut it down. It's often the second or third time that we come back that they're getting hit. So you've given us a tool, but it's not an absolute tool that's being -- we're not crushing people out there. Like I said, we have to interact. We're trying to be fair and consistent. But you've given us a tool to help us do that. So I appreciate that. The tools are what gives us the enforcement authority actually to tell people to stop and then to move on and go away. So we appreciate that. The tools are what we really need. But I think you have to understand we do use them with discretion. Not everyone we stop is getting a $2,000 ticket. It all depends on the facts and circumstances of every case.
That's wonderful. I'm glad to hear that. Member Phillips.
Thank you so much, Chair. I just want to thank you for your work to address quality- of-life issues in our City of Philadelphia with this issue. I just wanted to just get some clarity on something. So there are businesses such as Spirit of Philadelphia, Moshulu and so forth. They have on-deck entertainment, private events. Sometimes they have weddings, whatever it is. Does this 100-foot restriction apply to on-board entertainment as well? DEPUTY COMMISSIONER HEALY: Say that again. I'm sorry. I didn't hear you.
Does the 100-foot restriction apply to on-board entertainment as well, like official companies such as like the Spirit of Philadelphia, Moshulu and so forth? DEPUTY COMMISSIONER HEALY: It would.
Okay. All right. And then I just wanted to know who would be responsible for the violation? Once you get the violation, is it the vessel operator, the business owner, the event organizer or entertainer? Who would get the violation? DEPUTY COMMISSIONER HEALY: In that situation, it would be the operator of the vessel.
The operator of the vessel. Okay. That's all I just wanted more clarity on. And then what are you going to use to kind of -- is there going to be a thing, a speedometer -- not a speedometer, or some sort of tracker that you can use to kind of see that it's 100 feet away to kind of note how loud you can hear the music? DEPUTY COMMISSIONER HEALY: Yes -- the answer to the question is no. 2
Okay. DEPUTY COMMISSIONER HEALY: What we do on the body camera, we actually have the officers document the distance, the approximate distance so we have body-camera evidence. If you want to dispute it, we have the evidence. But we try to narrate what we're doing on the body camera. So you say, I'm approximately 150 paces from so-and-so or I see a lot of the people that do this on a consistent basis, especially on the Nuisance teams that are going out, they're documenting how they can estimate the footage. And usually we go above. If it's 100 feet, we'll say we're at 150 feet, so give us a comfort level. So if someone contests 100 feet, well, we didn't give you a ticket until we were at 150 feet.
Okay. It's going to be at the officer's discretion of whether or not they want to do a warning as opposed to a $2,000 fine immediately? Because right now, the way it's written looks like you'll get the $2,000 fine immediately upon the -- DEPUTY COMMISSIONER HEALY: Well, that's written like every other statute or code ordinance. That's the penalty. But it's the discretion of the police officer making the stop, whether or not I issue that citation or I give you a warning.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. Good morning, Commissioner. DEPUTY COMMISSIONER HEALY: Good morning.
This is really a question I'm kind of raising mostly for the sponsor. I want to make sure that our code remains consistent and fair across the board. Under Chapter 10-400 of The Philadelphia Code, a standard land-based noise violation carries what Dr. Phillips mentioned, at least carries it for the first time an offense fine of $100 to $300. But because a $2,000 fine on the water is significantly higher as Dr. Phillips raised, could the sponsors just kind of walk us through, for the record, the policy rationale for making a noise violation on a river up to 20 times more expensive than the exact same conduct on a sidewalk or in a house? And I'll ask that as a tee-up kind of for a follow-up question. DEPUTY COMMISSIONER HEALY: The question for me, this is in parity with the nuisance vehicle ordinance. These are noises emanating from vehicles, whether it be the land vehicle or water vehicle, and at the same standard, 100-foot distance for the same fine. So there's parity between the two because this is a nuisance vehicle, and that's the land-based one. This is in essence a nuisance boat or other watercraft. And so, for parity upon the two type of vehicles, I think the reason why I think it's fair and consistent is that you have the same fine.
Fair enough. Given that the distances are difficult for residents to gauge accurately and sound travels uniquely over water, how can we ensure that the ordinance actually provides residents with a fair and reasonable opportunity to comply before facing a severe $2000, even if it is to maintain parity, but to hit that kind of penalty? Would it be possible to include a warning structure of gradually elevated fines based on the number of offenses? DEPUTY COMMISSIONER HEALY: Theoretically, yes. I've seen that in other statutes. The problem from a logistical perspective, it's very hard to track the warnings. How do I know you received a warning yesterday or the day before versus today. My officers do a very good job. They're not out there to really hammer people. They just want to stop the noise, because they're getting the complaints from across the river, from the neighborhoods. You go down, shut the music off or at least turn it down. Now, you don't have to shut it off. Just turn it down to a reasonable level. We go away. And that's always historically been the case. We're not looking to take anything. We're not looking to take cars. We're not looking to take boats. We're not looking to get people $2,000 fines. We know how hard that is. The issue is my officers also -- they're working people. They're not going to hammer people left and right for these tickets. The issue is they go down, you give them warnings and then they move on. Just like any other statute in the vehicle code or wherever the case may be, for the most part my officers get warnings upfront. So, yes, you could put a warning structure in the statute. But from a logistical perspective, it would be a nightmare for me to try to manage it. Because in the field, I'm not going to be able to know whether you got a warning or not got a warning. And so, it becomes a bit of a problem. I really trust the discretion of my police officers when giving tickets and stuff. Like I said, if there's ever a problem or a complaint, people can always file a complaint if you think you got a ticket in an appropriate manner. So there is a forum for people to actually complain. If they're not happy with the police service or they think that they were given poor service or they didn't give an opportunity, that's through the complaint process. And we accept every complaint. So I think rather than muddling the law, per se, there is a procedure. And if we put this out there, I think I'm fine with the type of a publicity thing saying if you believe something was done wrong by the police, here's how you address those concerns through Internal Affairs. I think that that would be fair.
You make me want to ask a question about what you would need to make a warning system, something that records the warnings. I feel like that's something that's needful for you anyway, like an opportunity for growth. DEPUTY COMMISSIONER HEALY: Well, one thing you could do is, I mean, theoretically posting is warning. Okay. Putting up --
Like posting up signs? DEPUTY COMMISSIONER HEALY: -- posting is a warning. So we're having these problems along certain areas. Okay. One are the boat ramps in the Northeast Philadelphia, but also in the parking lots in South Philadelphia by the Walmart, where at nighttime there's nobody there but it echoes right across the river into people's homes. So putting some type of posting up there would be an idea to cover what you're saying. You want people to know in advance they're not to be here and not to be able to hear things. That would be something we could work with.
Heard. Let me not belabor the time. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
I think you make some good points there. And we will work with Parks and Recreation that where they have the ability to put up signage. And I think, Deputy Commissioner, the point you were making, these aren't going to the individuals that are not on a vehicle. And when you operate a vehicle, it's not a right. It's a privilege. You are getting a license from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. And in exchange for that, you have to follow the rules of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. But I appreciate where you were going with that, very much so. So thank you for your testimony, Deputy Commissioner. DEPUTY COMMISSIONER HEALY: Okay. Thank you.
Ms. McDonald, would you please call the next person for the next panel.
Joe Carson, President of East Torresdale Civic Association. (Witness approached witness table.)
Good morning. Could you please state your name for the record and then proceed with your testimony.
Certainly. My name is Joseph Carson. I am here today to talk about Bill 18 260702. Good morning, members of City Council. I am Joseph Carson and East Torresdale resident and current President of the East Torresdale Civic Association. I also chair the monthly Pleasant Hill Park Quality of Life Committee meeting where we address issues affecting our community. Today I am here in support of Bill No. 26702. Our neighborhood has worked with the Streets Department, Parks and Recreation, the Police Department, other law enforcement agencies and Councilman Driscoll's office to identify resources, solutions and tools to address disruptive behavior and restore calm in our community. Passing Bill No. 26702 will give law enforcement another essential tool to achieve the outcomes our community seeks. We want a Philadelphia we can all take pride in and enjoy respectfully. Passing Bill No. 26702 will move us closer to that goal. Thank you for your time. Any questions?
Well, thank you, Mr. Carson. I just want to thank you not only for coming to testify today, but the different hats you wear in Northeast Philadelphia and in East Torresdale. We all are familiar with our community organizations. We know you don't get paid as the President of East Torresdale. We know how much time you put in, how much aggravation it is. It's a thankless job. And then you also have to suffer from some of the bad behavior we've been talking about today since you --
I live along the river. I'm a witness to a lot of the aberrant behavior. I'm witness to -- I was listening to the testimony earlier. I've witnessed the police come in and they talk to people prior to writing them up. I mean, they're fair with it. And the challenge is that some folks are the police leave and they come back. The neighborhood calls. You know, it's like a yo-yo kind of phenomenon. I can't tell you that the police aren't engaged. The Parks & Rec has a ranger out there. They're engaged. And there is a concerted effort to have a presence in our community. And I do think that this is sort of one of the final tools that they need to sort of nip it in the bud because parking lots come but, you know, they're 100 feet off the water and it's madness on the river. So they just need a tool to quiet that down and no one's looking to start problems. I know you had some challenges with the way it would be adjudicated and implemented. But I think that my experience is that it's more than fair and the police are doing a swell job in making that happen, but they just need that final tool to nip it in the bud. I mean, no one calls the police because it's just a little bit loud. The police are called when you have a baseline thumping through your home. So that's really what we're trying to solve in my opinion.
Appreciate your efforts there. Hearing no further questions from the members of this panel and there being no other panels to testify on bills today, we will now transition to our public comment session. Ms. McDonald, will you please call the first person making public comment we have to testify this morning on this bill.
Okay. I'd like to thank the witnesses for being here today and joining us. That would conclude the hearing and we'll now go into the public meeting. There being no further questions from members of this committee and no other witnesses to testify on Bill No. 260702, I will ask if there's anyone else present in this hearing whose name we failed to call and that wishes to offer testimony on the bill being considered today? (No response.)
Seeing and hearing none, I want to thank the panels and witnesses for their participation. This concludes the public hearing of the committee. We will now go into a public meeting to consider the action to be taken on the bill 6 before this committee today. Ms. McDonald, will you please call the roll to take attendance. Members that are in attendance, will you please indicate that you are present when your name is called.
Present. The Chair recognizes Councilmember Gilmore Richardson for a motion on Bill No. 260702.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. I move that Bill No. 20 260702 be reported from this committee with a favorable recommendation and further move that the rules of Council be suspended as to permit first reading of this bill at the next session of Council. (Duly seconded.)
The Chair notes for the record that Councilmember O'Rourke seconds the motion. It has been moved and properly seconded that Bill No. 9 260702 be reported from this committee with a favorable recommendation and further move that the rules of Council be suspended to permit first reading of this bill at the next session of Council. All those in favor of the motion will signify by saying aye. (Aye.)
The ayes have it. The motion carries. This concludes the business before the Committee on Licenses and Inspections today. Thank you all for your participation. - - - (Committee on Licenses and Inspections concluded at 10:40 a.m.) - - - C E R T I F I C A T I O N I, hereby certify that the proceedings and evidence noted are contained fully and accurately in the stenographic notes taken by me in the foregoing matter, and that this is a correct transcript of the same. __________________________________ TANEHA CARROLL