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Ruling allows concerts to go on

The Ford Amphitheatre, a judge finds, sits on state-owned land and is outside Hillsborough County's authority.

By MICHAEL VAN SICKLER
Published July 12, 2005

TAMPA - Outdoor concerts that have brought hundreds of complaints from neighbors of the Ford Amphitheatre will be allowed to continue under a judge's ruling Monday, but the battle isn't over.

Armed with recorded violations of a noise ordinance, Hillsborough County officials have tried since last year to muzzle loud concerts at the amphitheater along Interstate 4.

But a Hillsborough circuit judge ruled Monday that Clear Channel Communications' operation of the amphitheater is beyond the reach of the county's authority because the facility sits on state-owned land.

Since last year, music industry titan Clear Channel has operated the $23-million amphitheater on 17 acres it leases from the Florida State Fair Authority.

Judge Charlene Honeywell ruled that the Fair Authority is a state entity and, therefore, exempt from local rules.

That decision didn't help Hillsborough County's Environmental Protection Commission, which has paid more than $200,000 in legal fees seeking to clamp down on the concert noise. EPC general counsel Rick Tschantz called the ruling an "obstacle," but one that could be cleared.

The ruling also did not please nearby residents, who complain that the concerts by such acts as Hank Williams Jr. and Linkin Park have disrupted their once-peaceful neighborhood.

"We just want them to turn the music down," said George Jacobs, who has lived for 19 years in a house about a mile away from the amphitheater. "If my neighbor played his radio loud and I could hear it like I do these concerts, he'd get arrested real quick. That they do it on state land shouldn't be an excuse for them to get away with it."

By no means did Honeywell's ruling spell a final victory for Clear Channel, which still has to convince the judge that the company qualifies for the same exemption that the fair authority has. But Clear Channel attorney Don Conwell said Honeywell's decision was an important step in dismissing the county's lawsuit against the company, which is scheduled for an Aug. 27 hearing.

"It's a big win for the Fair Authority and Clear Channel," Conwell said. "We needed this sovereign immunity, or we lose."

Honeywell ruled the Fair Authority qualified for "sovereign immunity," a legal status that similarly shields tribal lands from U.S. laws.

The intent of sovereign immunity is to prevent federal and state governments from being affected by rules imposed by lesser governments, such as cities or counties.

The fairgrounds are overseen by a 21-member Fair Authority appointed by state Agriculture & Consumer Services Commissioner Charles Bronson, who also sits on the board.

In 2003, the authority leased the fairgrounds for 15 years to Clear Channel, the largest live music company in the United States. Clear Channel pays the authority $275,000 a year during the first five years of the contract. The amount then escalates.

Gordon Schiff, who represents the Fair Authority, said the EPC's lawsuit "attempts to disrupt and to invade state trust funds." The authority is protected by interference from local agencies, Schiff argued in a court brief, and the case should be dismissed.

Honeywell gave the EPC 10 days to file a written response to her ruling.

The EPC had argued that the Fair Authority didn't qualify for the immunity in the first place. If the EPC doesn't get the waiver and Clear Channel qualifies for the exemption, the case would be dismissed.

In June, the EPC said that the 20,000-seat amphitheater wasn't built the way Clear Channel said it would be. Officials said the roof was 40 percent higher than the approved design, generating more noise than was projected.

The amphitheater's design wasn't discussed Monday, but Conwell said afterward that he looks forward to debunking the EPC's complaints about the design and noise violations if the case goes to a hearing.

"None of the EPC's noise measurements are accurate," he said. "I'll prove that. And the EPC doesn't know how to read drawings. That's all I'll say."

--Michael Van Sickler can be reached at 813 226-3402 or mvansickler@sptimes.com

[Last modified July 12, 2005, 04:52:32]