Issue link: https://newsleader.uberflip.com/i/277189
to be treated the same as industrial uses in terms of noise emissions. That was handled by adding a section to the ordinance that creates a Commercial Intensive/Industrial Zone designation for "commercial intensive or industrial uses." Regarding the public comments that morn- ing, she continued, "I think people need to be made aware there is a proposal to lower [the noise levels] by 5 decibels. I'm not necessar- ily suggesting that we change the [proposed revisions]. I'm not sure how I feel about it." Still, Patterson continued, "I think Mr. McWhorter brought up some pretty valid points …" In response to questions from both Patterson and Chairman Charles Hines, County Attorney DeMarsh told the board he saw no legal lim- itation in the commission's approving lower decibel levels in tables provided in the ordi- nance. The legal advertisement of the March 19 public hearing, he pointed out, does not spell out the proposed revisions. Instead, it directs interested persons to obtain a copy of them. "That is not a limitation on what the commission ultimately would do after a pub- lic hearing," DeMarsh added. However, he advised that the additional changes be noted during any community dis- cussions of or communications about the ordinance in advance of the public hearing. Donna Thompson, the county's assistant zon- ing administrator, told the board she had been working with the county Communications Department staff on notices the board asked be sent to the county's Chambers of Commerce and neighborhood associations about the upcoming public hearing. "The notices hav- en't gone out yet," Thompson added, so the additional changes could be incorporated into that material. "On the documents that you are going to hand out, we need to make sure people realize the numbers could be lower," Hines told her, so they can address the suggestions during the public hearing if they wish to do so. A BUSINESS VIEW During the March 4 meeting of the Siesta Key Village Association (SKVA), Matthes dis- cussed the changes proposed in the ordinance as of the Feb. 19 County Commission meeting. He pointed out that the law was revised in 2004. The thinking at that time, he said, was that the maximum dbA sound level of 75 from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. at the generating line of a commercial or business property "would be sufficient enough not to [create] a receiv- ing problem." In other words, he pointed out, if the sound were 75 dbA or lower at the generating line, it logically would have to be even lower at the line of the property receiving the sound, as that line would be some distance from the place where the sound originated. The proposed revision also calls for lowering the dbC level for a commercial/business land use from 85 to 80 between 7 a.m. and 10 p.m., he noted. Between 10 p.m. and 7 a.m., the maximum dbC level would be lowered from 80 to 75, while the dbA level would remain 70. "I don't see a huge issue with it," he said of the recommended revisions. "Overall, I don't think it's going to be a huge difference." Sarasota News Leader March 14, 2014 Page 29