Bradenton looks to piggyback off Manatee County for new noise ordinance

BRADENTON -- As Manatee County draws close to finalizing revisions to its noise ordinance, the city of Bradenton is opting to piggy back on the county's, rather than revising its own.

Noise ordinances vary across the state and many have become difficult to enforce in the courts. City Attorney Bill Lisch last week met with the local state attorney's office, which said it would not pursue any prosecutions of noise ordinance violations that didn't include using decibel machines.

The city currently uses machines to measure noise levels but how that applies to various parts of the city is a concern to some local businesses.

Frank Tschida, co-founder of Motorworks Brewing, 1014 Ninth St. W., said the city's ordinance doesn't distinguish between commercial, entertainment and residential areas.

"Sixty-nine decibels from the property line is basically talking," said Tschida. "We are in an entertainment district and we've had one person move into the area after we were already open and has taken 69 to heart and calls the police often. I would think that probably the police department has more important things to do than to show up for a loud band on a Friday night."

Tschida said several events have had to be shut down and he is losing disappointed customers and business. He said smaller breweries in St. Petersburg, where Motorworks first considered opening, are doing as much as $300,000 more in business a year. He said St. Pete is drawing new businesses to its nightlife industry "almost daily."

Ward 4 Councilman Patrick Roff has attempted to broach the noise ordinance on several occasions to his fellow council members but has had no luck in moving the subject forward.

Mayor Wayne Poston said he understands the issue, "but there are all sides to this story."

Ninth Street West is designated an entertainment district and Roff confirmed that the majority of calls about Motorworks are coming from the same person, "who is essentially hijacking the police department. It's a citizen misusing the police department. In the long run, we need to give the police department a little more freedom to make a judgement call to what's reasonable."

Under the county ordinance, the police won't have that discretion if it wants to enforce the ordinance. That concerns business owners like Tschida.

"There are enough buildings for sale on Ninth Street that are perfect for new restaurants and really nice outside venues," he said. "I don't see anyone wanting to invest in it under this environment."

Lisch said the benefits of joining the county's ordinance are that Manatee County Sheriff's deputies would have the authority to pull over loud vehicles and enforce the ordinance. The Bradenton Police Department would still be responsible for responding to noise complaints, however.

"And if the ordinance is challenged in court, the county would have to defend it," he said.

Police Chief Melanie Bevan is not a fan of the decibel machines and would prefer her officers have more discretion but agreed that "our hands are tied if we can't get a prosecutor on our cases."

However, Bevan said she will instruct her officers to use common sense and will retain discretion in choosing when to use a machine in response to noise complaints.

"At some point, we need to figure out how to break away from what's binding the patrol officers," Rolf said. "We are growing up. We are turning into a bigger city and we are going to have downtown noise that is not unbearable. ... At what point are we hindering the development of the town?"

Mark Young, Herald urban affairs reporter, can be reached at 941-745-7041 or follow him on Twitter@urbanmark2014.

This story was originally published April 29, 2016 at 1:39 PM with the headline "Bradenton looks to piggyback off Manatee County for new noise ordinance ."