Bradenton may back away from Manatee County’s noise ordinance

Despite taking a vote in late April to piggy-back on a new noise ordinance being drafted by Manatee County, Bradenton officials are now taking a second look.

“We haven’t really decided what to do yet,” said Mayor Wayne Poston.

While there are some differences between the city’s current ordinance and the proposed county ordinance, one thing that won’t change is decibel restrictions after 10 p.m. within the city’s Ninth Street West entertainment district. That has some business owners fearful the city vision for the district is fading as quickly as the business they are losing.

About 50 people showed up at Wednesday’s Bradenton City Council meeting to talk about the city decision — even though it was not on the agenda. With two councilman absent, Poston told the crowd they would be better off waiting to say their piece until a full council was assembled. He also said the city is not obligated to use the county ordinance if it does not fit the needs of the city.

“The county won’t make a decision on its noise ordinance for some time,” said Poston. “We have one in place and the county is still considering theirs. We’ll see if it works for us, but we always have the opportunity to opt out. We just don’t know what it will look like yet.”

The county was expected to vote on the noise ordinance next month, but City Administrator Carl Callahan said it appears the process is slowing down as county officials want to dig deeper into the language.

“The county scheduled a workshop in a couple of weeks, but how long after that they make a decision, we don’t know,” said Callahan.

Motorworks Brewery co-founder Frank Tschida said the current ordinance is “antiquated” and the proposed county ordinance doesn’t distinguish between commercial, entertainment and residential.

Tschida said Motorworks is three times larger than any brewery in St. Petersburg, and yet those smaller breweries are making $300,000 more a year because of a more business friendly noise ordinance. Multiple noise complaints have been registered, but Police Chief Melanie Bevan confirmed virtually all of them are coming from the same person.

Ward 3 Councilman Patrick Roff said one person “is essentially hijacking the police department.” He said he wants the city to move toward St. Petersburg’s noise ordinance, which allows for outdoor entertainment until 11 p.m. Sunday-Thursday and midnight Fridays and Saturdays.

Motorworks wants the same thing.

“It’s not a lot to ask,” said Barry Elwonger, marketing manager,

Roff also is waiting to see what Palmetto does after its commission rejected using the county ordinance as a model. Mark Barnebey, Palmetto city attorney, said it would restrict the city goal of a future entertainment district and doesn’t address mixed-use developments of residential on top of commercial.

While Roff is “not thrilled” with the county noise ordinance, he is relieved to finally have a noise ordinance being discussed, “Which I have been trying to do for quite some time.” He expressed confidence the city will ultimately abandon the county ordinance in favor of its own.

What you are saying:

“We stand to lose the momentum we have created in revitalizing our downtown.” Jason Taylor.

“Motorworks invested a lot of time and effort to turn that neighborhood around and in my opinion has succeeded for the betterment of the community and businesses that surround Motorworks.” Glen Gibellina.

“Send a clear message that residents need rights also.” James Rae.

“Motorworks has put Bradenton on the map in a very positive way. Why would our elected officials do things to undermine the success of a fine establishment like this?” Gus Pipay

This story was originally published May 26, 2016 at 3:12 PM with the headline "Bradenton may back away from Manatee County’s noise ordinance."