Title
Noise Ordinance (B)
Explanation
In December 2012, the Florida Supreme Court upheld in the case State v. Catalano that some parts of s. 316.3045 F.S. regarding loud noise originating from a vehicle were unconstitutional. This ruling made it necessary for the Gainesville Police Department (GPD) to discontinue enforcing the City of Gainesville’s local ordinance regarding noise violations. As a result, the City experienced a marked increase in complaints from our neighbors who requested that the police department address noise issues in their communities.
To address the increase in complaints, GPD met with neighbors from the various communities to assist with: 1) identifying the specific problems, and 2) formulating possible solutions. Working together with the police department’s Legal Advisor, we drafted a revision to the City’s noise ordinance that utilized an amendment of the state statute that eliminated the verbiage deemed unconstitutional by the court.
The draft revision to the current City noise ordinance (Code of Ordinances, Chapter 15) allowed for the enforcement of noise violations that are “plainly audible” more than 25 feet from the source. Police department members began meeting with community groups in June of 2021 and concluded those meetings in November last year. In order to solicit additional feedback from the community, we distributed copies of the draft ordinance revision again to various groups, including many neighborhood watch groups, until January 2022.
On May 26, 2022, the State of Florida passed legislation amending s. 316.3045 F.S. which allows for the enforcement of loud car stereo violations. The amendments to the state statute are virtually the same that were incorporated into the suggested City of Gainesville noise ordinance revision.
Gainesville Police Department personnel have been instructed to issue only warning citations for noise violations during the month of July. Following this 30-day educational period, fu...
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