RIVCO to stop noise violation fines for East Valley ranch owners while new ordinance is drafted

Ranch owners in the eastern Coachella Valley have made some progress with Riverside County on a new noise ordinance pertaining to large events at the rural properties.

Last night, a group of about 20 ranchers, which included Claudia Lua Alvarado who owns Rancho 51 and Date Garden in Coachella, met during a private meeting to discuss ideas they will present to County Supervisor V. Manuel Perez and planning staff at an upcoming community meeting.

Some of the ideas discussed to mitigate noise include a strike system, that would essentially bar certain DJs and bands from working with ranchers on events if they continuously violate the rules on noise.

Over the last several months, code compliance has issued hefty fines to ranch owners that were found in violation of the existing noise ordinance. However, some ranchers have expressed concern over whether the way in which noise is measured is fair.

"It's not that we want to be disrespectful, it's just that the noise ordinance 874 with the ranchos is not working," said Lua Alvarado.

Last week, the Riverside County Board of Supervisors voted to start the process of amending the current rules.

The group of ranchers who attended and participated in public comment were told by Supervisor Perez's Chief of Staff that all fines would be paused while the noise ordinance is amended, according to Lua Alvarado.

She also said they were told that The County is working to clear any existing fines ranchers have received.

"Ranchos are going to have to work with people that are permitted now. There are a lot of things that we're going to have to do now and changes, so you have to be ready," said Lua Alvarado.

There are 5 other key points that County officials would like ranch owners to abide by in order to continue to hold large events on their properties Those include ensuring that a property is used for agricultural purposes, be at least 5 acres in size, have parking, have two exits for the fire department, and provide restrooms.

We reached out to Supervisor Perez's office for comment, but he was unavailable.

His office is expected to have a draft of the noise ordinance next week, then County officials will plan a community input meeting with ranchers the following week to discuss the next steps.