HOLMES BEACH – The daytime 50-decible noise limit restriction imposed on Jake Spooner’s pending Island Bazaar development remains a topic of debate at Holmes Beach City Hall.
On Dec. 17, city commissioners approved the major site plan application submitted by Spooner and architect Mark Smith. In addition to Spooner’s ground-level Island Bazaar retail space, the approved development project will include a miniature golf course, the Fudge Factory candy and ice cream shop, an arcade, a tour boat landing and a 125-seat second-story indoor/outdoor restaurant.
When discussing the site plan application, Mayor Judy Titsworth suggested a lower daytime decibel limit be imposed on that property because the mini-golf course’s ambient music will be played from opening to closing seven days a week. Commissioner Dan Diggins suggested the 50-decibel limit that Spooner agreed to and the commission approved.
The Jan. 15 issue of The Sun included a letter to the editor from Holmes Beach residents and frequent city meeting attendees Margie and Dick Motzer.
“The reduction to 50 decibels during the day in this resolution was noteworthy; it will be great for the mayor and her family who live nearby. That level of protection is now only in this one geographic region. Considering that the 14th Amendment grants equal protection, we think the city needs to take action to apply that same daytime 50 decibel level city-wide,” the letter says.
The letter led to an impromptu noise ordinance discussion initiated by Planning Commissioner Lisa Pierce during the planning commission’s Jan. 15 meeting.
“I would say what’s good for the goose is good for the gander. That sounds like a good idea everywhere,” Pierce said of the 50-decibel threshold.
“I think 50 (decibels) is really low,” Planning Commissioner Richard Brown countered.
The planning commission requested that additional noise ordinance discussion be included on the agenda for their Feb. 5 meeting.
The impromptu planning board discussion prompted Titsworth to request a noise ordinance discussion during the Feb. 11 city commission work session, after the regular city commission meeting at 2 p.m.
Minor’s memo
The Feb. 3 memo that Director of Development Chad Minor sent the mayor and city commissioners says, “At the mayor’s request, staff was asked to research and provide examples of dBA (decibel) limits from other communities to how the city’s current ordinance compares.”
Minor’s memo notes the Holmes Beach noise control ordinance allows 65 decibels between 7 a.m. and 10 p.m. and drops to 50 decibels between 10 p.m. and 7 a.m.
Regarding the stipulation placed on the Island Bazaar development, the memo says, “Amplified outdoor music shall be limited to the outdoor miniature golf course/outdoor recreation area between the hours of noon and 10 p.m., not to exceed 50 dBA as measured per the city’s noise ordinance.”
The memo includes the decibel limits imposed by six coastal cities on Florida’s east coast: Cocoa Beach, Flagler Beach, Ormond Beach, Indian Harbour Beach, Hollywood and Boca Raton. The daytime decibel limits in those cities’ residential areas ranged from 55-65 decibels during the day and evening, 50-60 decibels later at night and overnight and 60-80 decibels in commercial/non-residential zones. Minor’s memo does not reference any cities on the west coast of the state or elsewhere on Anna Maria Island.
Motzer comments
The agenda for the Feb. 5 planning commission included a noise ordinance update from Minor. He noted the city commission would discuss the noise ordinance on Feb. 11 and staff was asked to provide examples of other cites’ decibel level allowances.
When offering public input, Margie Motzer said, “We were thrust into the noise issue 10 years ago. Our quality of life eroded and over time we learned the city was receiving between 250 and 300 noise complaints annually. We also learned it was a contributing factor to residents leaving, so that concerned us. For years we were told that it was just splish-splashing in a pool even though our residents had recordings to show otherwise. We were told by several city officials that we should expect it because we live in a resort zone. That was a defining moment for me because I knew I lived in a residential zone. The resort zone is between 52nd and 74th Street, along Gulf (Drive),” she said.
Reading verbatim from the city’s comprehensive plan regarding the resort zone, Motzer said, “Intended to limit the development of intense multi-family residential/seasonal tourist development to that area adjacent to the Gulf of Mexico, thus ensuring that such development will not intrude into or be incompatible with existing residential neighborhoods.”
Motzer said the stipulation imposed on Spooner’s development was meant to protect nearby residents but “creates fundamental inconsistencies because no one outside of that cherry-picked geographic region has that same level of protection.”
In closing, she said, “I would also suggest that it’s inconsistent with the comp plan if one business or geographic region in a C-3 (zoning district) has a lower and unique decibel level. The protections need to be consistent. The overriding issue is equal protection.”
Related coverage:
Letter prompts noise ordinance discussion
Letter to the Editor: Residents insist on equal protection in noise ordinance
