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Port Richey council asks staff to draft ordinance to allow waterfront amplified music with limits
Summary
Council members agreed to have staff and the city attorney draft a narrow ordinance to allow amplified music in the waterfront overlay district under defined conditions, and to send the draft to the Planning & Zoning Board for input; the police chief warned that sound carries far across the water and will require enforceable guardrails.
Port Richey — The City Council on June 9 agreed to pursue a change to the waterfront overlay code that now bans amplified music in open-air and semi-enclosed spaces along the river. Council members instructed staff and the city attorney to prepare a narrowly tailored ordinance and send it to the Planning & Zoning Board for review before it returns to council.
The change would not be automatic; staff asked the council to clarify the scope (whether to allow music generally or only by permit), the types of uses covered (restaurants, cafes, special events), hour limits, and whether objective sound standards or complaint-based enforcement should apply. City staff framed the choice as balancing economic activation of the waterfront with neighborhood compatibility and enforceability.
The city’s police chief cautioned that waterfront sound behaves differently: “The issue we have is ours is on the water. So, it's going to amplify through the whole entire river and you're going to have residential areas throughout that river,” the chief told council, warning that amplified sets can carry to neighborhoods across the water and generate complaints even when not extremely loud at the source.
Council discussion focused on hours and practical enforcement. Multiple members said live music is appropriate for waterfront businesses but urged limits; suggestions included no amplified music before 10:00 a.m., lower permissible levels after 10:00 p.m., and different allowances for Friday and Saturday nights. No final hours or decibel thresholds were adopted; instead, the council directed the city attorney to draft an ordinance with time-frame options and enforcement language for Planning & Zoning to evaluate.
City Manager Don King Jr. and the attorney framed the next steps: staff will prepare a draft ordinance that confines changes to narrowly defined locations and uses and presents options for hours and compliance metrics. The Planning & Zoning Board will be asked to provide recommendations on time limits, permit conditions if any, and enforcement approach before the council takes a final vote.
Next steps: the council’s directive sends a draft ordinance to Planning & Zoning for review; staff and the attorney will return with a proposed ordinance and recommended guardrails for council consideration.
