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Tampa makes 1st noise arrest
An Ybor City club manager is charged under the February law.
By MICHAEL A. MOHAMMED
Published September 23, 2006
YBOR CITY - Tampa police made their first arrest Friday morning under the city noise ordinance passed in February, which instituted harsher penalties for bar and nightclub managers who violate volume restrictions. Stewart Skipper, 25, manager of the dance club Amphitheater, was arrested at 12:15 a.m. Friday and charged with a second-degree misdemeanor. He was given a notice to appear in court. If convicted, Skipper faces a $500 fine or up to 60 days in jail. Owner John Santoro said he would "vigorously defend" against the charge, but, on his lawyer's advice, declined to comment further. According to Santoro, the club was operating Thursday night the same way and at the same volume that it has for 13 years. Under the previous noise ordinance, violators would receive a warning, and would receive a citation only if they broke the rules again within 72 hours. Under the new rules, however, violators can be arrested if they break the rule within a year of being warned, and repeat offenders can face jail time or risk having their wet zoning suspended or permanently revoked. City rules limit sound in entertainment districts such as Ybor to 85 decibels for high noises and 87 for bass, from 6 p.m. to 3 a.m., levels roughly equivalent to the noise made by a heavy truck or a factory floor. On July 28, Skipper received a warning when police recorded Amphitheater's bass at 96.1 decibels, nearly the same volume as a jackhammer, while the bass was pumping at 101 decibels before the arrest Friday morning. Tampa police spokeswoman Laura McElroy said the warnings are tied to managers rather than to establishments, so a club that uses different managers on different nights could get more than one warning in a year without receiving a citation. She added that the city hopes club owners will start to voluntarily obey the ordinance so that police do not have to arrest anyone else. "Overall, it seems the businesses want to cooperate with us," McElroy said. "Some weekends, there are no warnings at all."
[Last modified September 23, 2006, 01:16:14]
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