ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. – The St. Augustine City Commission discussed on Monday night potential updates to the city’s noise ordinance.
Ordinance 2025-08 was set for a first reading during Monday’s meeting, but it has been in the works for months. It’s a topic that has been brought up at several previous meetings, and the ordinance being presented has several amendments to acknowledge the questions and concerns of commissioners and the community.
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Some residents who spoke during public comment said the current rules are not enough.
“This is a residential small town, warm, welcoming real city that is not just a tourist Disney town,” a resident said during the meeting.
RELATED | St. Augustine leaders move closer to making updates to city’s noise ordinance
Most notably, the ordinance allows for what’s described as “plainly audible” distance limits.
That means the sound can’t be heard clearly from within the affected person’s house or within 100 to 150 feet of the source, within residential areas. That number drops to 50 to 100 feet overnight.
News4JAX has heard from residents in the past who said they couldn’t get an officer with the proper sound equipment to check out the complaint for a long time — which is the hybrid option discussed ahead of Monday’s meeting.
These are the proposed changes to the existing ordinance:
- Bars, restaurants and music venues will use sound measurements
- Based on the ordinance being discussed on Monday, a measurement would be taken within 10 feet of the building
- Between 7 a.m. And 11 p.m. Thursday through Saturday it can only be up to 12 decibels above the ambient noise
- That cutoff is 10 p.m. every other day of the week but all other times it would need to be 7 decibels
- A stricter set of guidelines than the previous ordinance
A business impact statement included in Monday’s discussion says about 64 hotels and similar businesses, along with 73 bars and restaurants, could be impacted.
The proposed rules could come with a $100 civil penalty and another $499 for repeat offenses.
Residents will have a chance to weigh in during the second reading on June 23.
