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Noise complaint goes quietly in courtroom

A restaurant-bar owner is acquitted after the key witness can't recall when she filed a written noise ordinance complaint.

By MELANIE AVE
Published April 30, 2005

CLEARWATER - June Johnson was the picture of all things soft and sweet as she took the stand Friday to testify against Fresco's restaurant.

The 81-year-old with coiffed white hair, leaned into the microphone like an expert witness. The marinaside restaurant features bands performing on an outdoor deck on Friday and Saturday nights.

"The noise is so loud," Johnson told the judge, "it's unbelievable. It's like having them in our apartment."

A dozen or so of her neighbors from the Florencia and Bayfront Tower condominiums on Beach Drive, most of them elderly, nodded in agreement. Some of them cupped their ears to hear the testimony.

It was the latest case of noise friction between downtown residents and businesses. As more condominiums go up in the traditional business district and the number of residents grows, the chorus of noise complaints also has grown louder. Condominium residents have yelled about rap concerts at Vinoy Park and rock shows at Jannus Landing.

On Friday, Pinellas County Judge Kathleen Hessinger considered a Nov. 30 citation issued to Fresco's for violating the city's noise ordinance. Johnson and other Florencia residents said noise from the restaurant-bar near the Pier on Second Avenue NE became a problem after bands began performing outdoors last summer.

But the case against Fresco's unraveled quickly Friday after Johnson could not remember the night she registered a written complaint.

Hessinger acquitted restaurant owner and attorney David Sockol of the misdemeanor charge that carried a $50 fine. But she urged him to listen to the complaints and develop a solution, especially as downtown becomes more residential.

"It seems you've got a problem down there," Hessinger said. "You need to work it out."

"I don't want to antagonize people," Sockol said afterward. "But when you live in a central business district, I think you've accepted there's going to be a certain amount of noise."

Sockol said live bands perform at Fresco's Friday and Saturday nights, sometimes until 1 a.m. He said he has tried in the last three months to keep the volume under control and even offered to go to the Florencia to monitor the sound.

St. Petersburg's ordinance defines a noise violation as any sound which "disturbs humans" and is loud and raucous. Generally a violation is continuous noise over 65 decibels. The maximum penalty is a $500 fine and 90 days in jail.

St. Petersburg police spokesman George Kajtsa said many noise complaints hinge on wind direction and the type of music being played.

"If it's rock music, the complaints come in like you can't believe," he said. "Let's say it's a string quartet playing Mozart . . . you would have no complaints no matter how loud it is."

On Friday, Sockol's attorney John Trevena asked Johnson the type of music she liked. Her response: "Sweet music."

"The type of music being played, you don't really care for? Is that a fair statement?" he asked.

"Yes," she said, but added that at 1 a.m., any music is too loud.

After the trial, several residents said they were disappointed but hopeful the business and residents could somehow live in peace.

"We're not enemies," said Carmen Moore, a Florencia resident. "The city has invited residents to live downtown and businesses to locate downtown but they haven't tweaked the ordinances."

Landy Nelson, 66, said he wants Sockol to stick to his word and turn down the volume. He said he would listen for results Friday night.

"If they don't," the Florencia resident said, "we'll come back here and do it again."

[Last modified April 30, 2005, 00:50:14]