Sarasota News Leader

06/06/2014

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"I do not feel because I live downtown that my home should be penetrated by loud music," said Carol Reynolds. "Last year, you decided to postpone the public hearing until most of the downtown residents were gone [for the summer]." On one factor, both sides agree: Enforcement of decibel levels with a sound meter is a waste of time. Lurking in the background is another agreeable fact: The restaurant that plays live music outdoors only is the same one that has not received any complaints. "We don't have an indoors to move into at 10 p.m.," said restaurateur Paul Mattison. His namesake grill is an open-air café at the corner of Lemon Avenue and Main Street. "Since we opened and [began operating] to 11 p.m. and midnight [the latter closing time is on the weekends], I have kept a hand on the volume control. We haven't had any com- plaints; we haven't had any issues," he added. "The one time we had a complaint, we weren't even open. It was someone else." In other words, responsible and respon- sive management can present live outdoor entertainment downtown without riling the early-rising neighbors in the surround- ing condominiums. To convince the managers of other estab- lishments to comply with the proposed new Jim McWhorter offered this slide as evidence that the current (and proposed) 75 decibel limit on downtown noise is totally too loud. He says it makes Sarasota the noisiest city in the nation. Image courtesy Jim McWhorter Sarasota News Leader June 6, 2014 Page 18

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