Downtown Safety Harbor residents and business owners spar over live music

SAFETY HARBOR — It’s a situation that’s been around as long as downtown districts have existed: the densely populated areas produce a certain level of noise, and some people who live nearby don’t like it.

That scenario has been playing out in Safety Harbor for several months, as residents have complained to the city, called the cops, and pleaded with downtown bar and restaurant owners to keep the noise down.

The situation reached a crescendo in mid-April when a citation was reportedly issued to Bar Fly, a Main Street hot spot that typically features live music, for violating the city’s noise ordinance, which utilizes a nebulous “loud and raucous” threshold for violators without any decibel levels or timeframes attached.

In response, Bar Fly owner Jeff Harrell on April 16 started a Change.org petition that states, in part, the recent enforcement has halted outdoor live music performances, impacting our business and the local music scene.” He added the City Commission told residents “to simply call the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office. This has allowed basically any of the folks unhappy with the outdoor live music … to use resources and call deputies out at times such as 3:30 p.m. on a Sunday, 7 p.m. on a Friday, and 9 p.m. on a Saturday.”

The petition ends by urging city officials to “reconsider their stance on outdoor live performances” and to “work together towards a solution that supports both public health and a vibrant local culture.”

A May 2 update on the Bar Fly Facebook page said a recent “wonderful meeting” between business owners, residents and city officials at Bassano’s resulted in “a lot of great ideas on how we can all work together as a community on common ground.” They included businesses coming up with solutions to mitigate sound and residents understanding the businesses care and are taking action.

However, the kumbaya moment was apparently short lived.

During the May 6 Safety Harbor City Commission meeting, resident Sharon McAuley addressed the issue.

“I’d like to address the fiasco that’s going on in town with this noise ordinance,” McAuley said. She believes the situation has “really torn this town apart” while requesting an “emergency meeting to rewrite this ordinance.”

McAuley called the noise ordinance “toothless,” noting warnings can stack up over time with little repercussion, with the exception being the citation that was issued to Bar Fly last month.

“This whole thing is about money in their pocket,” she said. “The louder the music is, the more people drink and the more money they make. That’s the only reason this is continuing to happen.”

McAuley called for decibel meters to be implemented to determine noise levels and fines to start after the third warning or “it’s never going to stop.”

Later in the meeting, Vice Mayor Andy Steingold agreed with McAuley’s point about adding decibel levels.

“Personally, I think we need to readdress it with a decibel level instead of a more objective finding,” he said. “I think we need to go to that so it can be measured so when people complain, it’s valid based upon an objective finding rather a deputy being put in a position to determine whether it’s loud and raucous.”

Commissioner Nancy Besore said she would be open to utilizing a decibel level, “if we could incorporate it with some timing,” while Mayor Joe Ayoub said he wasn’t interested in doing anything differently now.

“In my mind, there isn’t more action for the city to take,” Ayoub said during a goal-setting session held after the regular commission meeting. “We have an ordinance. Some residents don’t think it’s strong enough. Some businesses think it’s too strong. And we have the Sheriff’s Office that goes out and enforces it. And I don’t think we need to be in the middle of it anymore. Let the sheriffs do their job.”

Ayoub said he attended the Bassano’s meeting, where he asked business owners why they’re complaining about the ordinance when it works in their favor, and what position they would like the city to reconsider.

“Our position is, we allow a lot of outdoor live music,” Ayoub said. “Do you want us to reconsider that position? I don’t think so.”

Ayoub concluded by stating he believes the recent dialogue between all the parties involved signals “the vibe is moving in the right direction.” While he admitted he “doesn’t think there’s an easy answer for the issue,” he said he believes they should “give it a little more time” to see how the tentative truce plays out.

Commissioner Carlos Diaz agreed.

“It’s a matter of being good neighbors, both the residents and the businesses,” Diaz said. “They have to have a middle ground. This town has a history of finding middle ground. I think it’s a matter of being good neighbors and respecting each other … and then come together and figure it out.”