City Hall at capacity just before a reading of a noise ordinance.
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A continuing effort by the Cedar Key Commission to reduce citizens' complaints about late night amplified music resulted in the final reading and passage of Ordinance 441 at the June 3 Commission meeting. Ordinance 441 includes upper limits for sound as measured by a decibel meter. It also set as a standard, sound detectable by a person with normal hearing 200 feet from the source of the sound. As soon a the ordinance was read, Commissioner Gene Hodges forcefully expressed his disapproval of the use of human hearing as a legal standard. He added that a decibel meter should be enough once a $555 device to calibrate the decibel meter could be purchased. Two audience members Dan Holland and Mike Day suggested tabling the issue for various reasons. Mayor/Commissioner Hearth Davis kept the discussion going after a brief parliamentary procedure debate over an attempt by Commissioner Hodges to amend Commissioner Pat O'Neal's motion to pass the ordinance. Commissioner O'Neal withdrew his motion in favor of a Hodge motion to pass the ordinance with the human hearing standard deleted. That motion passed four to one, with Mayor/Commissioner Davis voting against the motion. Cedar Key now has a noise ordinance that prescribes a scientific device in the hands of a designated City official as the means of measuring noise levels. Allowable limits vary according to the time of day and district of the City. | 