Most Manatee County commissioners ignored public objections on noise ordinance

Regardless of who is elected as the new county commissioners, once elected you need to remember that you are there to represent the citizens of Manatee County. You need to remember that when one person complains, that complaint should be taken seriously. When one person attends a meeting or workshop, that one person could be there representing all the residents who could not show up because the meeting was held during the day while others were working.

As residents, we do not expect to be laughed at or belittled when we seek your help.

There are many residents in Manatee County dealing with nuisance noise issues that they cannot solve without your help. As residents we expected to have rights in the new noise ordinance, instead we received none!

Only Commissioners John Chappie and Robin DiSabatino chose to represent the residents and voted against the new ordinance. All other commissioners voted for the ordinance, which contained nothing to protect the residents from noise created by commercial property; there was no mitigation and no compromise.

Commissioner Betsy Benac stated “that she has not heard noise complaints” (Bradenton Herald, Sept. 14); however, many citizens spoke about noise issues at that workshop.

Again, we are asking for some sort of soundproofing or mitigation to be added to the ordinance to protect the residents from noise created by commercial property. Soundproofing solutions are readily available; however, most commercial property will not choose to use them unless it is required. Residents should not have to seek legal action against their business neighbors or others to solve a problem that should be regulated by the county.

We expect the newly elected county commissioners to hear our voice and represent the residents of Manatee County.

This story was originally published October 29, 2016 at 4:48 PM with the headline "Most Manatee County commissioners ignored public objections on noise ordinance."