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St. Augustine tightens noise rules; commission approves amended nightlife ordinance
Summary
After two years of review, the City Commission unanimously approved amendments to the city noise ordinance, including treating hotels and similar lodgings as residential for enforcement, shifting Thursday quiet hours to 10 p.m., and a requirement that transient lodging complaints be referred to management before police enforcement.
The City Commission of St. Augustine unanimously approved ordinance 2025-08 on second reading, amending the city’s noise-control rules to tighten nighttime limits in the downtown nightlife area and to clarify enforcement procedures for transient lodging.
Assistant Chief Anthony Cuthbert of the St. Augustine Police Department presented the ordinance’s changes and said the commission’s June 9 directives had been incorporated. The amendments treat all premises that contain habitually occupied sleeping quarters — including hotels, motels and bed-and-breakfasts — as residential uses for the purpose of the ordinance. The changes also moved Thursday night quiet-hour restrictions to begin at 10 p.m., aligning Thursdays with other weekdays, and left the ordinance neutral about whether windows or doors are open for enforcement purposes. The ordinance adds a provision directing that noise complaints from guests of a transient commercial sleeping quarter be referred to management for resolution when the disturbance originates at the same establishment.
Speakers at the public hearing included Scott Maynard of the St. Johns County Chamber of Commerce, who suggested occasional exemptions to accommodate special events; Mark Alexander, who cautioned about making decibel limits overly restrictive and noted issues such as fixed building mechanical equipment; and Scott York, a former mayor who supported the tightened hours and said the business community had agreed to support enforcement. Mr. York noted that enforcement does not require a resident complaint and that officers or a noise compliance officer can enforce the ordinance when plainly audible criteria are met.
Commissioners and staff said the rewritten ordinance was the product of two years of study, public input and expert consulting; they praised the noise consultant and police staff for producing language that would balance quality-of-life needs for residents with business activity. After limited additional comments, the commission voted 5–0 to adopt ordinance 2025-08.
The amended ordinance revises definitions (11-87) and permissible sound levels (11-88) and incorporates the commission’s directives into tables of plainly audible times and decibel limits. Staff said the changes allow the city to treat transient lodging like residential uses for enforcement, move Thursday’s quiet hour to 10 p.m., and remain neutral on open windows/doors. Implementation will be handled by the police department and the city’s noise compliance processes.
