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Dunedin Noise Rule Overhaul Moving Forward

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By Mark  Schantz | The Suncoast News

Published: December 1, 2007

DUNEDIN, Fla. - DUNEDIN, Fla. - The city could have its revised noise ordinance on the books just in time for the musical frivolity that occurs downtown at the height of the tourist season.

Assistant City Manager Harry Gross said the idea is to have standards in place to handle noise complaints by early next year.

The ordinance will try to find a middle ground allowing restaurants to provide the live entertainment needed to survive economically, while offering relief to residents when they think purveyors of amplified music have gone overboard.

The city hired an acoustics consultant to conduct a study of how sound travels throughout the downtown retail and hospitality district.

Information from the consultant and the city's Noise Ordinance Task Force will be compiled into a draft ordinance to be presented to the City Commission in January.

The city's current noise ordinance is considered too arbitrary by many Dunedin business owners. Just one or two complaints can shut down a performance, critics of the existing noise rules say.

The revised noise ordinance, Gross said, would rely on sound-level limits that can be measured by sheriff's deputies.

The ordinance would include distance requirements from an establishment for measuring music and noise.

Times of the week would be established for when specified levels of outdoor amplified music would be considered more acceptable.

For example, it would be more acceptable to present musical acts playing into the night on weekends than weeknights.

The consultant's report, crafted by Gainesville-based Siebein and Associates, recommended a tiered enforcement approach "much like a field sobriety test."

A general observation would determine if a disturbing noise is plainly audible, "similar to an officer recognizing someone is driving carelessly or recklessly," the report suggested.

A sound-level test would then be conducted to determine if the sound exceeded noise thresholds.

A provision would be included to measure nuisance noises that do not meet limitations of amplified music, such as from generators or car radios.

The best thing about the likely proposed revision, Gross said, is the city will have an objective measure of whether music is too loud at a specified distance from the sound source.

The Noise Ordinance Task Force will have one more opportunity to weigh in on the draft ordinance that will then be presented to the City Commission for their suggestions, he said.

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