Metro Park: New Noise Ordinance Introduced 9/20/13

[sheclown]

Introduced by Council Member Lee, Boyer, Gaffney, Gulliford and Redman:
      

ORDINANCE 2013-676
AN ORDINANCE AMENDING CHAPTER 368 (NOISE CONTROL), ORDINANCE CODE, PART I (GENERAL PROVISIONS) TO CREATE NEW SECTION 368.109, ADOPTING INTERIM RULES FOR THE ADMINISTRATION OF SPECIAL EVENTS OVER 500 PEOPLE AT METROPOLITAN PARK; APPROVING A MODIFIED LICENSE AGREEMENT FOR SPECIAL EVENTS AT METROPOLITAN PARK; PROVIDING FOR SUNSETTING OF SAID INTERIM RULES AND LICENSE AGREEMENT ON SEPTEMBER 30, 2014; AND PROVIDING AN EFFECTIVE DATE.

   WHEREAS, Metropolitan Park, with its size and beautiful downtown riverfront location, has the potential to be one of Jacksonville's greatest civic assets; and
   WHEREAS, although it has long been a destination venue for concerts, festivals and other civic gatherings, events in Metropolitan Park have also long been the source of noise and vibration complaints from residents in nearby neighborhoods; and
   WHEREAS, such complaints have recently resurfaced as the duration and nature of events produced in the park has shifted, leading to the appointment of a City Council Ad Hoc Committee on Metropolitan and Urban Parks (the "Ad Hoc Committee") to study the situation and make recommendations for remedial action; and
   WHEREAS, the Ad Hoc Committee has met over the course of
several months and taken testimony from a variety of experts on the subject of sound production, measurement, regulation and control, and believes that several types of remedial actions show promise to reduce or even eliminate the undesirable effects of activities at Metropolitan Park on nearby neighborhoods; and
   WHEREAS, by means of this ordinance the Ad Hoc Committee proposes several temporary regulations to mitigate undesirable sound impacts from events at Metropolitan Park until further studies can be performed and a final plan for permanent improvements to Metropolitan Park can be developed and adopted; and
   Whereas, the adoption of this ordinance will allow the booking of events for the upcoming year by providing artists and promoters with certainty and removing the threat of noise citations, and will also provide nearby residents reasonable protection from intrusive and offensive violations of our City's noise ordinance; and
WHEREAS, the Ad Hoc Committee has recommended that the Council adopt Interim Rules for Musical Events at Metropolitan Park and a modified License Agreement for Metropolitan Park consistent with those Interim Rules; now therefore
   BE IT ORDAINED by the Council of the City of Jacksonville:
Section 1.      Creating Section 368.109.  Section 368.109 (Special Noise Standards for Metropolitan Park), Part 1 (General Provisions), Chapter 368 (Noise Control), Ordinance Code, is hereby created to read as follows:
CHAPTER 368.  NOISE CONTROL.
*  *  *
PART 1. GENERAL PROVISIONS.
*  *  *
   Section 368.109.  Temporary Noise Standards for Special Events at Metropolitan Park.  For any entertainment event, concert or special event held at Metropolitan Park in which it is anticipated that 500 or more individuals will attend the event and amplified sound will be utilized, a Metropolitan Park License Agreement (the "License Agreement") shall be executed between the City and the party requesting use of Metropolitan Park (the "Applicant") for the event (the "Event"). The following requirements for sound control shall apply to such Events and  shall be incorporated within the executed License Agreement between the parties:
"This paragraph applies to all applicants of Ticketed Events (an event in which general admission is charged and use of the entire Metropolitan Park property is restricted for the Event) and those applicants of Non-Ticketed Events (event with no general admission and open to the public or an event that has an admission fee but is restricted to a portion of the Metropolitan Park property) who have elected to utilize the sound waiver for production of musical events in which the noise decibel level is exceeded pursuant to Chapter 368, Ordinance Code, or Environmental Protection Board Rule 4.  Applicant (including all artists, performers, entertainers, sound technicians, employees, and subcontractors of Applicant, and any others participating in production of the Event) shall comply and ensure compliance with the following provisions during the Event:
(a) The hours of event production and sound checks utilizing amplified sound in the Park ("Permitted Hours") is restricted to:
1. Friday – 12 p.m. to 11 p.m.
2. Saturday - 11 a.m. to 11 p.m.
3. Sunday – 12 p.m.  to 10 p.m. (unless prior to a Monday which is a holiday in which case the permitted hours are from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m.)
4. Weekday events, other than Holiday events, are 12 p.m. to 10 p.m.
5. Sound checks shall begin not earlier than the later of 9 a.m. on the day of the scheduled   Event or four (4) hours prior to the scheduled beginning time on each day of an Event.
6. If weather conditions delay or disrupt the Event, the Permitted Hours may be extended up to 30 minutes beyond the end times stated above.
(b)   The maximum allowable sound level, as measured no more than 100 feet perpendicular from the stage at the sound board, shall not exceed the following Broadband and Octave Bands levels limits during the applicable time frames:
   Time:            Permitted hours before 10 p.m.
               
   Broadband, dB (A)      105         
   Octave Band Hᵶ         dB (A)
      31.5            95         
      63            110         
      125            100         
      250            95         
   Time:            Permitted Hours after 10 p.m.
   Broadband, dB (A)      95
   Octave Band Hᵶ         dB (A)
      31.5            85
      63            100
      125            90
      250            85

   Time:          All non- permitted hours
Normal provisions of Chapter 368, Ordinance Code and EPB Rule 4 apply.
If Applicant complies with the sound level restrictions above during the Permitted Hours, Applicant shall not be liable for any offsite decibel level noise exceedance pursuant to Chapter 368, Ordinance Code, or Environmental Protection Board Rule 4, during the stated time periods.
   (c)   Alternately, in lieu of the restrictions on  Broadband and Octave Band sound levels set forth in subsection (b), an Applicant may exceed these limits provided that Applicant utilizes an electro-acoustical "steering technique" to redirect sound waves away from the St. Johns River. If electing to utilize such technique, Applicant shall comply at all times with the offsite sound level limitations set forth in Chapter 368, Ordinance Code, and Environmental Protection Board Rule 4, and shall be liable for any offsite violation thereof.
      (d)   Applicant shall be responsible for the sound    monitoring costs associated with the Environmental
      Quality Division staffing and monitoring of the Event.       
   (e)   The Event shall occur no longer than 16 hours a day, including time for sound check.
   (f)   At least ten (10) business days prior to the Event, Applicant shall submit a certified check, made payable to the City of Jacksonville for $10,000.00 as a Noise Pollution Compliance Fee.  The certified check shall be deposited into a non-interest bearing escrow account until the Event is held. Alternately, a letter of credit or surety bond may be presented to Special Events at least ten (10) business days prior to the Event as a deposit for the Noise Pollution Compliance Fee. If no violations of subsections (b) or (c) are recorded by the Environmental Quality Division, the Noise Pollution Compliance Fee shall be returned to the Applicant within ten (10) business days after the Event. 
   
   However, if the Environmental Quality Division ("EQD") measures onsite violations under subsection 3(b) above, or offsite violations under subsection 3(c) above, the following penalties will be deducted from the Noise Pollution Compliance Fee:
         Violation         Penalty
         1st            Warning
         2nd             $1,000.00
         3rd            $3,000.00
         4th             $3,000.00
         5th             $3,000.00
   Each violation is cumulative so that if a 5th violation occurs, the total penalty assessed shall be $10,000.00.   If the City (through the EQD monitoring staff) records more than five (5) violations during an event, the City shall have the right to "pull the plug" and the Event shall terminate.  For purposes of establishing violations of Environmental Protection Board Rule 4, EQD monitoring staff shall allow no less than ten (10) minutes between recorded violations.  The Applicant shall designate two individuals as authorized representatives (one primary and one secondary) who shall be notified by the EQD monitoring staff when a violation is recorded. One authorized representative will be the Primary Sound Compliance Designee and the other will be the Secondary Sound Compliance Designee.  When a violation is recorded, EQD monitoring staff shall notify the Primary Sound Compliance Designee of the recorded violation. Notification shall occur by calling the cell phone numbers on file as designated in paragraph A2 of this Agreement. If the Primary Sound Compliance Designee does not immediately respond (i.e., does not answer the call), the Secondary Sound Compliance Designee shall be notified.  The Applicant shall have ten (10) minutes from the time that either the Primary Sound Compliance Designee or Secondary Sound Compliance Designee is notified of a violation to reduce the sound levels.  The first notification of recorded violation (either to the Primary Sound Compliance Designee or the Secondary Sound Compliance Designee, as applicable) will represent the first and only Warning to the Applicant.  All further notifications of a recorded violation of the sound level standards shall result in fines being imposed against the Applicant as described above.  If neither the Primary nor Secondary Sound Compliance Designees are responsive to the notification, EQD monitoring staff need not make additional attempts to notify the Applicant for that particular recorded violation, and after ten (10) minutes may issue a citation as if the Primary or Secondary Sound Compliance Designees were notified.
(g)   No more than three (3) additional or temporary stages will be permitted for the Event. The additional temporary stages shall be set to face away from the St. Johns River. The location and arrangement of the stages and sound systems shall be in accordance with the Stage Configuration Map attached hereto as Exhibit 2.  Sound attenuation blankets or sound walls shall be erected at the rear of any temporary stages.   Such temporary stage installations shall be installed in such a manner so as to minimize the noise impact on surrounding residential properties."

   All of the foregoing terms shall be included in each License Agreement entered into and may not be waived or altered by City staff.
   To the extent that the foregoing conflicts with other provisions of Chapter 368, Ordinance Code, or Environmental Protection Board Rule 4, the provisions of this section shall govern, supersede and control any inconsistent provisions of Chapter 368, Ordinance Code, or Environmental Protection Board Rule 4, as to any entertainment, concert or special event held at Metropolitan Park in which it is anticipated that 500 or more individuals will attend and amplified sound will be utilized.  This section shall sunset, be repealed, and be of no further effect, on or before September 30, 2014, unless extended in subsequent legislation.
   Section 2.     Definition of a Ticketed Event.  A "Ticketed Event" is defined as any event where general admission is charged and use of the entire Metropolitan Park property is restricted for the Event.  For purposes of defining "12 Ticketed Events" as referenced in Section 191.202, Ordinance Code, Special Events shall not grant licenses:
(a)     For more than 12 individual Ticketed Events annually;
(b)     For any Event that utilizes amplified sound to occur for more than two (2) consecutive days or a total of 32 hours of permitted amplified sound (no more than 24 hours of Event time plus not more than 4 hours each for  sound checks;
(c)      For more than 164 cumulative hours annually; or
      (d)      For more than two (2) multi-day Ticketed Events
   Section 3.   Approval of Modified Metropolitan Park License
Agreement.  The City of Jacksonville hereby approves the modified template for the Metropolitan Park License Agreement, attached hereto as Exhibit 1 and incorporated herein by reference.  The License Agreement at Exhibit 1 modifies the requirements and conditions of use as related to amplified sound at Metropolitan Park.  In addition to the permitting requirements under Chapter 191, Ordinance Code, all applicants seeking a permit for an event with more than 500 people estimated in attendance and involving amplified sound must enter into a License Agreement consistent with the template set forth in Exhibit 1.
   Section 4.      Adoption of Interim Rules for Administration
and Governance of Metropolition Park.  The City of Jacksonville hereby adopts the Interim Rules for Administration and Governance of Metropolitan Park, attached hereto as Exhibit 2 and incorporated herein by reference.  These interim rules represent legislative policy direction to the City Staff and are intended to assist the City administration, departments and employees in best practices as to the operational procedures and management of Metropolitan Park.   
Section 5.      Sunset.  Sections 1, 2 and 3 of this ordinance, providing for a new section 368.109, Ordinance Code,  providing for approval of a modified license agreement for special events with amplified sound and anticipated over 500 people in attendance at Metropolitan Park, and providing for adoption of interim rules for the City's administration and governance of events at Metropolitan Park shall sunset, be repealed, and be of no further effect, on or before September 30, 2014, unless extended in subsequent legislation.
Section 6.      Effective Date.  This Ordinance shall become effective upon signature by the Mayor or upon becoming effective without the Mayor's signature.

Form Approved:

__/s/ Paige Hobbs Johnston
Office of General Counsel
Legislation Prepared By:   Paige Hobbs Johnston
C:\Users\Gloria\AppData\Local\Temp\2013-676-2.doc

[I-10east]

A new noise-limiting ordinance has been reached by the city concerning the Metro Park music.

www.actionnewsjax.com/content/topstories/story/Compromise-reached-on-proposed-Metro-Park-noise/ek5WapE3w0GvDfmNZ8S0Eg.cspx

www.wokv.com/news/news/local/looking-more-music-will-stay-at-metro-park/nc6tW