By Dawn De Busk

Staff Writer

NAPLES — It was fairly quiet when it came to the public comment on the half-dozen ordinance amendments that are headed to a special town meeting in February.

However, the addition of a decibel level limit in the proposed Entertainment Ordinance got people talking.

Decibels limits and decibel meters have been used in other towns over the decades. But, this is the first time it has been introduced to an ordinance in the Town of Naples. The noise limit is 70 decibels as measured 200 feet from the establishment.

The conversation made it clear that the decibel meters — the equipment that measures decibels — must be approved by the town’s Code Enforcement Department and cannot be an app downloaded to a person’s phone. Also, the town will invest in such equipment.

What is less clear is who will be enforcing the law, should it pass at special town meeting. Nonetheless, the chairman of the Naples Board of Selectman pledged to follow through with the enforcement piece of the proposed Entertainment Ordinance.  

“I tell you right now: The only way this works is if we have enforcement. We are committed to enforcing this. If we have to hire someone, dedicate someone to this job, we are going to get our arms around this,” Chairman Jim Grattelo said. “We have spent money, time, effort, resources. And if we don’t have enforcement it was a total waste of time.”

“We cannot go through another summer like last summer,” he said, referring to noise complaints which evolved into lawsuits.

During the public hearing on Monday night, Naples resident Sam Merriam asked if business owners would be required to purchase a decibel meter.

Merriam lives in a neighborhood which is situated close enough to Gary’s Olde Towne Tavern that residents hear noise from both the bands playing indoors and any activity going on in the beer garden. This summer, the number of times that live entertainment was offered increased from previous summers.

“Does the final draft require the individual business owners to have the equipment” to measure and record the sound levels, Merriam asked.

Ordinance Review Committee Chairman Skip Meeker fielded the question.

“They are not required to have the equipment until there is a complaint. Then, after a complaint they are required to” purchase and use an approved meter reader, Meeker said.

Merriam asked about what steps would be taken when someone complains about the noise levels emitting from a business.

Meeker said that most likely there would be a deputy from the Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office (CCSO) who had access to equipment purchased by the town. The deputy would respond to complaints, he said.

Grattelo continued, saying that noise complaints would be handled by either CCSO deputies or someone designated by the town to be on call. Once a phone call is made, there would be an immediate response since it is based on the noise at the time of the call.

Grattelo responded to Merriam’s earlier question about the business owner’s responsibility to have decibel readers.

“It is volunteer at the beginning; and if there is an infraction, the onus would be on them,” Grattelo said.

Merriam asked the question, “How do we know the equipment is objective?”

People cannot use an app on a phone, Grattelo said.

Merriam asked if would be appropriate for residents living in neighborhoods near establishments that have musical entertainment to buy their own decibel readers.

“If I purchased the equipment, could I bring it into the [town office] and have it checked out?” Merriam asked.

Meeker said that the ordinance amendments were drafted to protect both the residents and business owner, to make the noise complaints more objective.

“You can use it to protect your rights,” Meeker said.

Merriam asked what would happen if the town did not hire a full-time deputy this spring as planned. He had phoned the CCSO to ask about deputies enforcing decibel limits in the town’s ordinance.

“If we cannot get a deputy to work 40 hours, could we just get the deputy in general to enforce a particular town ordinance. If we cannot get a contract to have boots-on-the-ground for Naples, could we get a contract for them to enforce the ordinance? They are under contract to enforce drunk and disorderly conduct,” Merriam said, “Any comments?”

ORC member Larry Anton spoke, saying if the deputies don’t work out, eventually the town will hire someone who works on call to handle noise complaints.

“Right now, it is up to the person who has created the noise to refute that; and it would be difficult to refute if the town has the decibel readings,” Anton said. 

Grattelo said that unless the town hires a deputy full-time, “the sheriff’s office is not responsible for enforcing our ordinance.”

It should be noted that one of the proposed amendments is a title change — from the Naples Special Amusement Ordinance to Naples Entertainment Ordinance. 

On Monday night, the other ordinances did not receive public comment. In a few cases, there were typos, which were pointed out and corrected. PDFs of all of the amendments are available on the Town of Naples website.