ST. PETERSBURG — Noise: the irritating underbelly of urban development.

And lately — with construction at a record-breaking pace — the clang of the pile driver, the drone of rooftop air conditioning units and music blaring from a booming nightlife scene have generated a cacophony of complaint.

Fed-up residents have caught the ear of City Council member Karl Nurse who has advocated for a solution to the problem. On Thursday, the city staff announced it would form a task force made up of residents, developers, geologists and other experts to figure out the best way to handle noise issues.

An ordinance may be in the offing, but also on the table might be incentives to developers to muzzle their hammers or otherwise minimize noise. Ideas are still being gathered, said Rick Dunn, the city's top building official, and Dave Goodwin, the city's director of planning and economic development.

Council member Steve Kornell suggested the group consider encouraging builders to incorporate thicker walls and windows in their plans.

The task force will be formed in the next 30 to 45 days, Dunn told members of the council's public service and infrastructure committee.

It can't start work soon enough, said Nurse.

"The good news is there's more building going on downtown. The bad news is there's more building going on downtown," he said.

The city is surveying other large Florida cities to see how they handle pile driving. So far, it seems to be largely unaddressed. Tampa's regulations are looser than St. Petersburg's, which limits pile driving on the weekends, part of the evening and very early morning, Dunn said.

Nearly nine months of pile driving at a high-rise apartment tower at 330 Third St. S exasperated nearby residents.

That example prompted council member Jim Kennedy to ask Dunn and Goodwin to consider time limits on pile driving.

"To live with it for one month is one thing," he said. "To live with it for nine months is totally different."

A certain amount of noise is part of the urban experience, Dunn said. Last year, the city saw an all-time high $400 million in construction value and this fiscal year promises to be just as strong, he said.

Three more towers are planned for downtown — including Bliss, a condo tower just off Beach Drive NE, and One St. Petersburg, a 41-story tower on the Tropicana block, Goodwin said.

None of them plan to use pile drivers, he said.

Contact Charlie Frago at cfrago@tampabay.com or (727) 893-8459. Follow @CharlieFrago