FORT PIERCE — Fort Pierce officials are considering changes to the city's noise ordinance following more than 1,900 complaints over a one-year period.
Sean Coss, the city's director of community response, outlined several issues with the current ordinance, including gaps in its schedule, inconsistencies in its language and limits on enforcement.
"There are three major concerns. One, there is no residential sound level limitation on Sundays between 1 p.m. and 11 p.m. Two, there are ambiguities in the ordinance and language in the ordinance is not consistent with state statutes. And three, the current ordinance requires warnings and limits civil citations and criminal enforcement for violations reoccurring within the same 24-hour period at the same location," he said.
Coss said the city received more than 1,900 noise complaints from April 2025 through April 2026. Most occurred on weekend evenings, particularly Sundays between 10 p.m. and 1 a.m.
Based on the complaint data, city staff recommended that commissioners consider adjusting the hours covered by the ordinance.
"Staff would recommend that based on the level of complaints that are received after 10 p.m., that the commission may want to consider changing the end time from 11 p.m. to 10 p.m. That may help reduce the number of complaints late at night. Alternatively, staff can explore the option of having the same time frame seven days a week. So from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m., for example, seven days a week," he said.
The proposed changes would also give officers more options for addressing violations, particularly when noise rises to the level of a significant disturbance.
Under the current ordinance, enforcement generally progresses from a written warning to a civil citation, followed by a misdemeanor citation or notice to appear and then an arrest for additional violations at the same location within a 24-hour period.
"So the current ordinance requires a written warning and then within the same 24-hour period at the same location, a civil citation can be issued for the second offense. A misdemeanor citation or notice to appear would be issued for a third offense. And for a fourth offense, the violator would be arrested," he said.
Staff proposed creating different enforcement procedures for severe and non-severe violations, while also extending the period in which repeated violations could be addressed.
"Staff's recommendation is to add a no warning required clause for severe violations when noise is so loud, excessive, or disruptive that it constitutes a clear and substantial disturbance or a breach of the peace. We would also recommend that for non-severe violations that we increase the time period from 24 hours to either 48 hours or 72 hours and it not be location-specific. A five-minute warning would be issued for the first offense," he said.
"A citation would be issued after five minutes or for a second offense within that time period. A misdemeanor citation would be issued after another five minutes or for a third offense within that time period. And the violator would be arrested after an additional five minutes or for a fourth offense within that same time period."
The recommendations also address chronic noise violations, with proposed restrictions for properties that accumulate three or more violations within 30 days or six or more within 90 days.
"For a chronic noise violation, the city manager or his designee, the police chief, may require a compliance plan to include a required security plan, outdoor music shutdown times, use of sound limiting equipment, mandatory staff training, speaker relocation, etc. or prohibition of amplified music," he said.
The city could also impose daily penalties of up to $500 for chronic violations that are not resolved within a year, as well as potentially placing liens on properties that continue to have violations.
Staff proposed additional restrictions involving amplified music from vehicles and other sources.
"One, create a standalone restrictions for vehicle music. The restriction would be for plainly audible noise at a distance of 25 feet or more from the vehicle by an officer's unaided hearing. A sound meter would not be required for that enforcement. Staff recommends that outdoor speakers be faced inward towards the structures. Add language allowing joint and several responsibility. Add language allowing alternative enforcement independently or concurrently," he said.
"This would allow enforcement of state statutes related to noise as well. We recommend adding language for parental guardian responsibility for juvenile violators and prohibiting loudspeakers on or above any right way."
Commissioner Michael Broderick and the rest of the board supported moving forward with the proposed changes.
"They've come up with a great package of recommendations. Let's deploy these. If it's not 100% effective, you'll make adjustments, come back and discuss it. But I think you put time and thought into how to manage this," he said.