Silence deafens sound ordinance until April 22

BY PRU SOWERS

NEWS WRITER

It’s not over until the fat lady sings and when it comes to changing allowable noise levels in Key West, she’s still holding her breath.

City commissioners agreed Tuesday to postpone the second reading of a controversial new ordinance that would change sound levels allowed in commercial and residential districts. They will take up the issue in a special meeting at 6 p.m.,  April 22,  at Old City Hall, 510 Greene St.

Commissioner Jimmy Weekley pulled the ordinance – which would have become law if commissioners had voted to approve it Tuesday night – off of the agenda, saying City Attorney Shawn Smith needed more time to write up additional changes proposed by several commissioners. Weekley asked for a special meeting to be held where the noise debate would be the only item on the agenda.

Commissioners are working with Smith to hammer out language that would further refine the noise levels already approved by commissioners last month. Those changes increased the decibel level allowed at bars, churches and entertainment venues but allowed sound enforcement officers to come closer to the venue to measure sound levels. Some bar owners have protested, saying that measuring levels at the property line instead of 100 feet away – the current law – will force them to eliminate live music performances during the day. Neighborhood residents, meanwhile, are pushing for stricter levels and enforcement.

What has been agreed to at this point is that decibel levels from 4 p.m. to 2:59 a.m. will increase from 75 dBA and 77 dBC (another sound measurement that tracks lower sound frequencies) to 85 dBA and 94 dBC.  While that may appear to let noise levels increase in the commercial district, a second change mitigates that, according to Jim Young, the city’s senior manager in code compliance, because enforcement officers can use decibel-reading meters at the establishment’s property line instead of 100 feet away as the current law requires.

In addition, allowable decibel levels for the 3 a.m. to 4 p.m. time slot will increase from 65 to 75 dBA along the entire Duval Street corridor.

Commissioner Teri Johnston said attorney Smith is writing a new ordinance that would keep the proposed higher decibel levels but impose different timeframes in different neighborhoods. For example, on upper Duval Street, stretching roughly from Truman Avenue to the Atlantic Ocean, the 85 decibel level would decrease to 75 dBA at midnight instead of 3 a.m. On lower Duval, where more entertainment venues are located, the deadline to turn down the music would remain at 3 a.m.

“It gives them [upper Duval residents] relief. We’re recognizing they’re still commercial but a different type of commercial, a more passive commercial area,” Johnston said.

“I think there ought to be a quiet time,” said commissioner Weekley. “From 10 in the morning to four o’clock, I think that’s reasonable. People are going to lunch and walking around. They don’t need to be inundated with [loud music].”

Commissioners also voted to postpone until the April 22 meeting a related proposed ordinance that would require entertainment venues to place speakers or other types of sound amplifiers at least 15 feet away from any entrances, exists or windows. The ordinance also establishes a three- strike rule, meaning if an establishment receives three noise citations in a 12-month period, their entertainment license could be suspended or revoked by the city manager.

 

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