ST. PETE BEACH, Fla. – The debate over live music in St. Pete Beach struck a high note in recent months, with talk of a stricter noise ordinance that could have ended some forms of amplified music as early as 7 p.m. On Tuesday night, city leaders made it clear: For now, the music will play on (within reason).
The backstory:
The city had floated the idea of earlier “quiet hours” after citing difficulties enforcing the current ordinance. The challenge to address residents noise complaints relates to the difference in relative sound rather than the decibel sound.
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The city’s current rules have a 65 decibel limit during the day and a 55 decibel limit at night. It also prohibits most amplified music between 10 p.m. and 7 a.m. Staff noted they often receive complaints where the noise is significantly higher than the background noise, but not necessarily in violation of the decibel ordinance.
But dozens of residents, restaurant owners and musicians filled city hall, arguing an early curfew could devastate tourism and the local hospitality industry.
“We are going to lose a lot of money, and we are going to lose a lot of fun. This place is a disaster. We don’t even have a grocery store. Let us have some fun,” said long-time beach resident, Larry Levine.
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Many said they were blindsided by the proposed enforcement hour starting at 7 p.m., which was part of a presentation given to the city commission at their July meeting.
“I’ve lived here my whole life I love St. Pete Beach. I’m a musician on the beach,” said musician Mia Hartley. “Don’t put language in anything that is not being seriously considered, that blows my mind.”
No one at the meeting spoke in favor of stricter rules.
What they’re saying:
Longtime resident Jeffery Banell told city leaders that resources should be focused on recovery, not new noise restrictions.
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“It’s time to let it go. What we had worked just fine,” Banell said. “I don’t see a need to waste valuable time and resources on a noise ordinance when we are trying to recover from a hurricane that devastated this community.”
Dig deeper:
St. Pete Beach Mayor Adrian Petrila closed the meeting by suggesting a compromise: Instead of drafting a new ordinance, the city will focus on enforcing the one already on the books. That means identifying repeat offenders and addressing problem properties directly.
Petrila recommended giving the city until January 1 to develop an enforcement plan, then evaluating how it works through the peak spring tourism season.
Vice Mayor Karen Marriott said that was the best path forward.
“I think we always need to be mindful of what problem are we trying to solve? If we have an ordinance on the books that can solve our problem, and we just aren’t enforcing it, then creating a new ordinance isn’t necessarily the correct answer,” she said.
What’s next:
At least until next year, St. Pete Beach will hold off on any new noise restrictions as it evaluates the effectiveness of its current ordinance.
The Source: Sources for this report include St. Pete Beach commission meeting, comments from residents and city commissioners, past meetings, city presentations on the topic posted on the city’s website and meeting minutes.
‘ The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties ’
‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.fox13news.com ’
