Plan to silence noisy car stereos is pulled

By Jake Wagman
ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH
02/03/2006

ST. LOUIS — The city's get-tough plan to silence booming car stereos was pulled Friday after the mayor and comptroller turned up the political pressure.

Alderman Craig Schmid's proposal to allow police to impound cars with enhanced stereo equipment was criticized as overly broad and intrusive. The bill would have allowed the city to fine motorists with some sound systems straight from the factory, technically enabling police to take their cars regardless of whether music was pumping or not.

At Friday's Board of Aldermen meeting, Schmid withdrew the plan and acknowledged those concerns need to be addressed before the bill could move forward.

"I'm trying to do the right thing," Schmid said after the meeting.

Schmid asked the board to basically undo last week's approval of the bill, returning it to the Public Safety Committee for revision. The committee will meet on Tuesday, where Schmid said he will propose an amendment that requires loud music to actually be playing before a motorist is in violation of the law. Even then, whether the bill makes it back to the board floor is unclear.

Alderman Freeman Bosley Sr., a staunch supporter of the plan, argued that the trip back to committee was intended to in effect kill the bill.

The move represents an about-face for the city's aldermen, who only seven days earlier approved the stereo ordinance by a 22-4 to vote.

But that was before Mayor Francis Slay hinted he could veto the bill. Slay, himself an alderman for a decade, has rarely exercised veto power during his five years as mayor. This week, his office issued a statement saying that while it agreed with the spirit of the stereo ordinance, the office had concerns about the bill's methods.

Schmid said he pulled his bill, in part, to prevent Slay from having to choose between the car stereo industry and neighborhoods fed up with loud music.