- November 30, 2024
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The cost of not complying with the city’s noise ordinance will increase to $250 for first-time offenders and $500 for subsequent violations.
The City Commission voted 4-1 on July 20 in favor of increasing the fines. The city previously issued $100 fines for first and second offenses, with a maximum fine of $500 for any violations.
The planned changes date back to a 2019 request from the Coalition of City Neighborhood Associations. Residents in the Arlington Park neighborhood have raised concerns about noise coming from the Cabana Inn property at 2525 S. Tamiami Trail. CCNA supported a resolution increasing the penalty for first and second offenses and raising the maximum penalty for noise violations to $5,000, hopeful steeper fines would lead to improved compliance.
City Attorney Robert Fournier said the maximum penalty for a civil citation contestable in county court is $500, so the city could not increase the fines for noise violations beyond that threshold. If the commission were interested, Fournier said there is a way to increase the maximum fine: changing the oversight of the noise ordinance to a special magistrate.
If a majority of the commission supported the change, a special magistrate would be empowered to order fines up to $5,000 for repeat offenders, Fournier said. The city attorney also said he could prepare potential changes to the ordinance designed to address other concerns that individuals have raised, including the Sarasota Police Department’s desire for regulations that are easier to enforce.
The commission voted 4-1 to direct staff to prepare potential further revisions to the noise ordinance for future discussion. Fournier said he would likely bring the topic back to the board at a meeting in the winter.
The majority of the board felt the increased fines were a reasonable response to concerns.
“The reason why it’s a problem is because $100 was not doing the job,” Mayor Jen Ahearn-Koch said.
The commission did not have information available on specific fines levied against businesses that were the subject of noise complaints. In April 2019, when CCNA introduced its resolution on the noise ordinance, Cabana Inn had been the subject of 12 calls for noise violations that year but had received no citations. At the July 20 meeting, Fournier said he did not think the city had issued many citations, but he pledged to get that information to the board ahead of its next discussion.
Commissioner Hagen Brody voted against both motions. He expressed concerns about the increased fines, asserting it was an overly broad response that could negatively affect residents and business owners.
“I get that we’re targeting a specific business and a specific problem, but this is going to apply to everyone,” Brody said. “This is going to apply to a lot of people that a $500 fine or a $250 fine is a big, huge financial hit.”
This article has been updated to reflect that the city has not finalized approval of the increased fines for noise violations.