Issue link: https://newsleader.uberflip.com/i/281176
had been in effect. Instead, the zoning of a parcel will determine how it is treated for noise enforcement. As Assistant Zoning Administrator Donna Thompson explained to the board, "Changing the definitions of gen- erating land categories would … assist in the noise level with the Phillippi Creek area." Under the current ordinance, Bob's Boathouse has been considered a commercial business. The new ordinance will classify Bob's as commercial/intensive, holding it to a stricter standard, she pointed out. Among the changes approved, the maximum dbC, or bass level, allowed at the receiving line in residential areas will be lowered from 70 to 65 between 7 a.m. and 10 p.m., while the dbA level — what county Code Enforcement Officer Kevin Burns described as the range of sound people hear — will be lowered from 65 to 60 during the same period of time. Additionally, sound level measurements can be taken in the future at the receiving prop- erty line when a Code Enforcement or law enforcement officer "cannot obtain a mea- surement at the real property line of the Generating Property" for one of several rea- sons, the revised ordinance says. Among those reasons would be if the generating property line is not easily accessible, such as a steep embankment. Bob's Boathouse sits on Phillippi Creek. THE DEBATE Barbetta sought early on to clarify that a reduc- tion of 5 degrees in the noise levels is not as small a change as the number might indicate. In response to Barbetta's questioning, Burns explained that if a measurement increases by 10 decibels, "You're basically doubling the sound." With a 5-decibel hike, Burns added, the noise is 20 to 25 percent louder. Barbetta also asked how the Sarasota County Sheriff's Office views the proposed changes. "This is going to be an enforcement night- mare if it's not easily understood," he pointed out, adding he felt the revisions had been proposed just in response to complaints regarding Bob's Boathouse and Walt's Fish Market and its Chickee Bar. The latter estab- lishments are located at 4144 S. Tamiami Trail in Sarasota. Commissioners have dealt with numerous complaints from residents about the music levels at the Chickee Bar. "We could be buying ourselves some incred- ible lawsuits here, going countywide and not Chairman Charles Hines and Vice Chairwoman Christine Robinson listen as Commissioner Nora Patterson makes a point. Photo by Rachel Hackney Sarasota News Leader March 21, 2014 Page 19