The following comes from a May 8 NBC Los Angeles story by Andrea Park and Randy Mac:

The joyful noise from a Southern California neighborhood church has been the nightmare next door for one Los Angeles woman.

Susan Rocha said the chiming of bells and music at Divine Saviour Catholic Church is anything but heavenly.

“You could hear it over the TV, over the shower, you’re sleeping and it wakes you up,” Rocha said. “It rings eight to 10 times a day, and it’s not a real bell. It’s a tape recording.”
We found out that Divine Saviour uses an amplified speaker system in its tower and while Rocha is the only person to officially complain, no one is denying it’s loud.

Rocha said she has been unsuccessful each time she asked the church to turn down the volume. She’s tried picketing them on Sunday mornings and she said she even started recording decibel levels as part of her city complaint.

When the NBC4 I-Team stopped by the church, we found the bells recorded at a 78, but Rocha said she’s registered levels as high as 105.

According to the letter of law for Los Angeles’ noise ordinance, Divine Saviour’s bell chiming and music are in violation, but there is a catch.
“Section 115.02 of the Los Angeles Municipal Code exempts churches and their bells from this law,” Russel said.

The church issued this statement:
“We have worked with Ms. Rocha to address her concerns. We lowered the decibel level three times and we haven’t had any other complaints.”