City to introduce noise ordinance

On Wednesday, the Tallahassee City Commission will unveil a long-awaited noise ordinance to provide law enforcement the authority to handle sound complaints city-wide.

The proposed ordinance, which will be introduced at its evening meeting, sets 24-hour decibel-level standards for residential and non-residential properties, with different regulations for sound inside and outside.

City staff presented the draft to the Sound Ordinance Advisory Group, a body of community stakeholders, at its last meeting in August. Before then, the group last met in April, when it considered similar regulations in Tampa, Hillsborough County and Daytona Beach. The proposal was made with community comment, input from the group and city departments, said Assistant City Attorney Lou Norvell.

At the final meeting, the group made just a few tweaks, held no formal vote and held a “substantial discussion,” said Commissioner Gil Ziffer, the commission’s liaison to the group.

“This isn’t going to be perfect for everybody. It’s not going to be the worst case for everybody,” he said. “Nobody was thrilled.”

The need for an ordinance came as a result of recent court decisions that struck down state noise statutes and found that other local laws were too inadequate to address excessive noise. As a result, law enforcement has been left with no method to deal with noise issues between residents. All the while, complaints have piled in.

Over the summer, Ziffer said he met with Tallahassee Police Department Chief Michael DeLeo, who insisted that the ordinance be enforced with a sound meter and not be left up to an officer’s discretion. In a statement Tuesday, TPD said it would follow the ordinance the commission approves.

“The Tallahassee Police Department has been working with city officials and the Sound Ordinance Committee to draft an ordinance which will try to meet the communities needs as a whole,” said TPD spokesman Officer David Northway. “When the ordinance is passed, TPD will enforce the ordinance to the best of our ability.”

TPD or city code enforcement officers would enforce the ordinance, which is based on how loud the noise is at the complainant’s property, not the source of the sound. Officers would measure decibel levels either inside or outside the person’s home, business, apartment or property. If the level is louder than either the outdoor or indoor standards, the violator could be slapped with a fine. A first violation costs $150.

Here are the count thresholds under the proposed ordinance:

Non-residential property - 24 hours:

Outdoor: 70 decibels (Vacuum cleaner)

Indoor: 55 decibels (City street)

Residential property between - 7 a.m. and 10 p.m.:

Outdoor: 60 decibels (Close conversation)

Indoor: 45 decibels (Softer than city street)

Residential property between - 10 p.m. to 7 a.m.:

Outdoor: 55 decibels (City street)

Indoor: 40 decibels (Whisper)

Todd Sperry, a member of the advisory group, said the ordinance is too black and white and could potentially inhibit growth in places like downtown Tallahassee.

Sperry, an owner of Oliver Sperry renovations, sees a threat to long-standing bars and businesses who would need to pipe down if a nearby resident decided to call authorities. Places like Klemen Plaza and College Town include a mix of bars, restaurants, condos and apartments.

He’s suggesting different standards in mixed-use areas – which blend commercial, residential and other development – if the city wants to build its urban core.

“It doesn’t really take into account who we want to be when we grow up,” he said.

The proposal includes a laundry list of exemptions. Residents of Myers Park couldn’t make a complaint about the sound emitted from the amphitheater in Cascades Park because of a separate city policy that allows up to 96 decibels during its concert series. The soon-to-be Centre of Tallahassee mall and its concert venue is likely to get a pass as well, Norvell said. The city will hold the first of two public hearings tonight on the mall’s development agreement, which would allow the same sound levels as Cascades Park.

Other exemptions include lawn-maintenance and construction noise during daytime hours and sounds from government, college or Leon County Schools vehicles and equipment. Noisy organized sporting events, permitted fireworks displays and parades are also excused.

The ordinance may need to be revisited in the future, Ziffer said. City staff is recommending the first and only public hearing on the issue be at the Oct. 28 commission meeting.

“I said to all of them at that time ‘we may have to go back and tweak this a little bit,’” he said. “Right now, we have nothing and we have to have something on the books.”

Contact Sean Rossman at srossman@tallahassee.com or follow @SeanRossman on Twitter.