The Planning and Zoning Board on Oct. 15 voted to recommend an ordinance that would revise the Factory Town Transit‑Oriented Development pilot program into a permanent Factory Town site plan and allow the operator to install permanent infrastructure, including water, sewer and restroom banks, and to adopt a master site plan for staged outdoor programming with an indoor 15,000‑square‑foot music and event venue.

City staff said the change revises an earlier pilot program ordinance so the site can move from temporary festival setups to permanent infrastructure and predictable staging. The board heard extended public comment from neighbors who said Factory Town events have produced disruptive noise for adjacent residential areas. A board member said residents in neighboring municipalities such as Miami Springs had also complained about noise.

Factory Town representatives Abra Jane and James Allgate described on‑site protocols and planned technical investments to reduce off‑site noise. Jane said the operator plans to install permanent infrastructure and a master plan to lock in stage locations. Sound consultant Allgate described a proprietary digital modeling system used to tune directional speaker arrays and to monitor and adjust frequencies remotely; he said the operator has engaged an acoustic consultant and will deploy equipment to model and digitally steer sound to reduce off‑site impacts. “We have an acoustic consultant every single event ... they have built a proprietary measuring software ... they can actually tell you which stage is playing that frequency and remove that out of the WAV files,” Allgate said.

Board members expressed mixed views: some said permanent infrastructure and consistent stage locations make mitigation easier, while another member said past events had not shown good‑faith mitigation and that resident complaints continue. Staff and the operator said police and on‑site staff take decibel readings when complaints are logged and that the operator is prepared to respond within minutes and to adjust speaker orientation or levels as needed.

The ordinance to amend the TOD Factory Town provisions was approved by the board and will be forwarded to City Council; staff and the developer said they would continue to work with the city, police and Miami Springs on complaint response, acoustical modeling and site‑plan details that will be submitted for building and permitting review.