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New rules would make beach bars turn it down
By AMY WIMMER, Times Staff Writer ST. PETE BEACH -- The live musicians who occasionally play Philthy Phil's Waterfront Bar & Grill have never been accused of making too much noise and violating St. Pete Beach's noise ordinance. Phil Albert, the owner and namesake of Philthy Phil's, wants to keep it that way. But he fears that the city's track record for expecting condominiums to co-exist next door to beach bars will tighten the noose around the necks of St. Pete Beach businesses. The city is revamping how police officers enforce noise violations in St. Pete Beach, making citations less reliant on decibel readers and more dependent on the complaints of neighbors. And now that one of Albert's neighbors is thinking about building condominiums close to the bar, Albert thinks his place, like other beach bars next to residences, is more vulnerable to noise complaints. "I'm there. I'm making noise," Albert said of his bar at 75th Avenue and Sunset Way. "As soon as you put residential there, I'm cited." The situation in St. Pete Beach is common on the barrier islands, where residents and tourists cram side by side, each wanting to preserve their piece of the beach. But when noise from the bars drifts through the sliding glass doors of condo balconies, lives of residents conflict with the livelihoods of business people. When employees at the Undertow dump glass bottles into a trash bin when the business shuts down for the night, neighbors complain. When motorcycle riders parked outside the Swigwam rev their engines, neighbors call the police. Both activities are prohibited in the new noise ordinance. But so are, point out some business owners who think the ordinance goes too far, "loud and raucous" horn honking, whistling and shouting between 9 p.m. and 7:30 a.m. "We're in an urban environment," Mayor Ward Friszolowski said. "We're real close together, and we're not trying to push business out." Friszolowski and the rest of the City Commission hope to create a noise ordinance that balances the needs of residents and businesses. The final vote on the new ordinance is expected Sept. 3. The ordinance they are reviewing includes criteria for measuring what sound and high decibel levels should be in different circumstances, but it adds opinion to the mix. For the first time, police officers will be able to collect testimony from people who hear what they describe as "loud and raucous" noise and report it to police. City Attorney Jim Devito said Treasure Island, Gulfport, Clearwater and Daytona Beach have similar ordinances that do not rely exclusively on sound measurements. While it may be more difficult to prosecute noise violation cases when a police officer did not personally hear and measure the sounds, the new ordinance should bring some relief to residents who complain repeatedly about the same neighboring bars but find that the Police Department can do little to help. "We're trying to find a balance between people who want to have a peaceful environment and people who are here on vacation and here to enjoy the nightlife that the community has to offer," said Bob Babineau, the interim police manager in St. Pete Beach. "The rights of each of those people needs to be respected and protected to the best that we can." Business owners, who consistently point out that the people who live next door to them bought their homes knowing they lived near a commercial area, fear that the stricter noise ordinance is one more step toward inhibiting business on St. Pete Beach. "It's going to create more conflict and more strife in the community," said Greg Price, a resident who urged city commissioners last week to think twice about the stricter regulations. Then there are businesses as troubled by the old ordinance as they are by the new one. Both ordinances prohibit bars from offering outdoor amplified music more than three nights a week, and then only if the owner has a city permit. Take Scrumpy's, a small bar and restaurant on Gulf Boulevard with a lushly landscaped deck out front. The owners often hire a guitarist to play laid-back Jimmy Buffett music. It's a typical scene for the beach, but Scrumpy's owner Cathy Pyrek learned last week that she was offering music too many nights according to the city code. She wants the commission to consider letting her offer music whenever she wants as long as it doesn't violate the noise ordinance. Even the mayor suggested that portion of the ordinance should be reconsidered. "If I lived in the suburbs," Pyrek said, "I could expect a lot more quiet than if I lived on the beach."
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From the Times South Pinellas desks Letters |
