Issue link: https://newsleader.uberflip.com/i/88739
Sarasota News Leader October 19, 2012 complaint. The ordinance says police have to measure the sound at the source. It is pretty safe to say there is not a rock-and-roll band in existence – and never will be – that produces a sound level lower than 65 decibels measured at the speakers. The 65-decibel level is quieter than the mod- erate volume of a television, which is pegged at 72 decibels. So it is no surprise that in 2011, the Sarasota Police Department fielded 262 noise complaints – from barking dogs to noisy parties to loud Harley-Davidsons to down- town musicians. Peter Fanning, who represents the Downtown Condominium Association, said, "We want a vibrant downtown, but we also need to rec- ognize people bought in residential areas ex- pecting it to be residential." He represents 34 condo complexes with 3,400 residents. More than a few of those residents vote every chance they get. THE LAW Sarasota is home to a man who knows more about these issues than perhaps any other man alive. Mort Siegel, a member of the city's volunteer Planning Board, has a day job as an entertainment lawyer representing some huge clients. "I represent Hard Rock Cafes across the U.S. I did all the regulatory work for Playboy when they had clubs. I was handpicked by [Chicago] Mayor [Richard] Dailey to totally revise their sound-related issues," he said. "There is a predictable conflict between enter- tainment and residential. The first thing that has to be done is for the City Commission to deal with the issue of what they see down- Page 27 town as a vision of the future," said Siegel. "If the folks testifying here say that every area of downtown Sarasota has to have entertain- ment with sound, it will never happen." "Entertainment-specific areas is a good con- cept, but it has to be taken out to other neigh- borhoods where the conflict is not so great," he said. "Loud sound will lose when it com- petes with people's lifestyles; it will fail. The city has to decide first. But if you are advo- cating downtown to be turned into an overall large entertainment center, you will fail." THE MIGRATION As the testimony continued, it slowly mor- phed into a discussion of how Sarasota can retain younger people born and/or educated here. "I'm in my final year," said a New College stu- dent. "The reality is you have the [Sarasota] orchestra and the Van Wezel [Performing Arts Hall], but not much else for me. A lot of my peers move away when they graduate; there is nothing for them here. This town is hemor- rhaging young people." Brian Hadley is a Sarasota native who works at The Players Theatre and has a keen interest in local history. "From the city's inception, the founders had in mind a progressive, lively, modern city," said Hadley. "Fast forward to the '90s. I remem- ber downtown had a life to it, but we didn't have the condos at the core. By limiting how much a band can play, and where, you affect their chances for success. Austin [Texas] and Portland [Oregon] have embraced the mu- sic scene, and people come from all over the world to listen to bands in little bars."