Got a message from Stu Kohn, president of HCCA that a new law passed and sound level at Merriweather Post is lowered. To see the Bill Contents go to — http://mgaleg.maryland.gov/2017RS/bills/hb/hb0677T.pdf.  The Maryland General Assembly database can be seen at http://mgaleg.maryland.gov/webmga/frmMain.aspx?id=hb0677&stab=01&pid=billpage&tab=subject3&ys=2017RS

When I first heard this noise problem from residents at the Columbia Association board meeting two years ago, I felt sympathy for them and shared my story with them.

“When I was in college, during one semester I was really bothered by construction noise. The school was building a new dorm, around 20 meters away from my dorm. They started construction at night because they need lay the concrete at cooler summer night. The huge sound just made me not able to go to sleep at those hot summer nights. Then the students began to call school president and other officials’s home phone numbers at night continuously.  It was wonderful we had their home phone numbers such that they can understand how those noise disturbed students’ sleep. Eventually the construction plan was altered and some of them was moved to summer when the students were not at school. “

I am happy that CA board  has been supporting our residents’ concerns and eventually all efforts made the difference. Originally I thought it would be very difficult to change how Merrirweather Post was operating because a previous law was passed to give them green light on this and Merriweather stated how important to have such a higher noise level otherwise their business will not be able to run successfully. Now, a new law was passed to switch that high noise level back. In one way, we can say our elected officials are very adaptive to residents’ demands and we really thank them. In another way, we can say the law can be changed one way or another pretty easily since the law to increase the noise level should not have been passed in the first place several years ago. Many residents have been bothered long enough.