New Port Richey City Council voted to amend a noise ordinance on second reading on Tuesday, creating measureable noise limits for residential and commercial properties.

NewsPortRichey reported originally in February that the Council was taking another look at the ordinance, after complaints were made about music being played at downtown New Port Richey’s Dulcet Restaurant.

Manns’ comment seems to directly refer to Section 14-21 of the City Code regarding noise which prohibits “loud or raucous” noises. The ordinance does not specify a specific level of noise in decibels. However, subsection 6 of 14-22 prohibits “Yelling or shouting,” and includes singing, at “loud or raucous” levels between the hours of 9:00 PM and 7:00 AM. That section would make it appear that Dulcet is in violation if they are using live music. There is another section prohibiting loud speakers and radios, which might apply to recorded music. You can read the full ordinance here.

“I wasn’t aware that they had reggae night was going on until 2 AM,” said Councilman Jeff Starkey. “I know we’ve had issues with the low frequency sounds because that stuff does transmit really bad,” said Mayor Rob Marlowe.

The new ordinance specifically limits sounds based on a decibel reading, something Police Chief Kim Bogart said was necessary for his department to enforce noise levels. The ordinance allows for police to take sound level measurements on properties immediately adjacent to a property receiving a complaint.

The ordinance specifies separate limits for residential properties and commercial properties:

Residential

55 decibel limit – 7 AM to 10 PM

50 decibel limit – 10:01 PM to 6:59 AM

Commercial

70 decibel limit – 7 AM to 11 PM

55 decibel limit – 11:01 PM to 6:59 AM