Issue link: https://newsleader.uberflip.com/i/301152
They went live on Facebook on March 21, two days after the Sarasota County Commission approved a revised Air and Sound Pollution Ordinance that lowered legal decibel lim- its. On April 22, they went live before the County and City commissions to protest the new regulations. Although the two boards were meeting in Sarasota to discuss the planned homeless shelter (see the related story in this issue), Tony LeClerc told the commissioners it was the first opportunity musicians had to speak to them about the changes in the ordinance. Still, he said, "I don't mean to hijack the meeting." LeClerc was one of nine speakers who pleaded with the County Commission to backtrack on its March 19 decision. They rep- resented Live Music Alliance, organized by Sarasota native Twinkle Yochim. The new decibel limits are "so restrictive and impossible that it makes lawbreakers out of all of us," Yochim said. "We're requesting that you guys please redress this. Find a bet- ter way." Yochim requested that the bass level be set at 10 over the ambient noise level, noting that the latter "tends to be 72, 78, depending on where you're at." The maximum bass level (dbC) the County Commission approved on March 19 is 65 between 7 a.m. and 10 p.m. as measured from a receiving area zoned Musician Christopher Young protests the revised county sound ordinance during public comments at the April 22 joint meeting of the City and County commissions. Photo by Norman Schimmel MUSICIANS PLEAD WITH THE COUNTY COMMISSION TO BACK AWAY FROM ITS TIGHTER NOISE RESTRICTIONS By Rachel Brown Hackney Editor No one's interested in being bad neighbors. We don't want to cause problems for anybody; we love our community. Tony LeClerc Musician Sarasota Sarasota News Leader April 25, 2014 Page 35