Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Public Events Noise topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Residents tell Ocoee commission WKB events "rattled windows"; city says county permit controls site
Summary
Neighbors described repeated "boom boom" bass and rattling windows from concerts staged at a radio-station property in unincorporated Orange County. Ocoee staff said the property lies outside the city and the sheriff's office will withhold county permit sign-off unless the city indicates approval; the commission directed staff to notify Orange County.
Neighbors and station operators spent more than an hour in public comment Tuesday over amplified sound from events organized at the WKB radio site on Clark Road, with residents pressing the commission to block future concerts and the station owner offering technical fixes and an apology.
"It rattles my windows," said resident Susan Vote, describing bass that she said carried a mile and disturbed residents, including an adjacent retirement home. Several other speakers described windows shaking and traffic and parking impacts across neighborhoods.
Shante Persog, identified as owner of WKB and Cultural Vibrations, said the May event that drew complaints involved a promoter who moved her engineer's stage set closer to residences and promised future events would use a right-of-property staging placement and an on-site sound engineer. "I will always have an engineer on staff," she said, describing steps to keep bass and speaker placement away from homes.
Staff and public-safety officials told the commission the events sit on property in unincorporated Orange County and that the county permit the applicant obtained lacked the detailed resource-management plan a city special-event application would require. Chief Vince Agburn said the sheriff's office reported no 911 calls showed up in dispatch logs for recent events and had told the event applicant county staff would withhold sign-off unless the city provided a written indication of approval. "They're not sending anybody out there," Chief Agburn said in describing the lack of dispatch calls; he added that the sheriff indicated it would not sign off on the county permit without some documentation from the city.
The jurisdictional gap put the commission in a limited position: because the property is outside city limits the commission cannot issue a city permit for that parcel. Mayor Johnson said staff would send a formal letter to Orange County summarizing the complaints and urging county review; the commission did not authorize a city permit for the site.
What residents asked for ranged from a city role in restricting events to better coordination with the county; station supporters described WKB's long community history and the economic and social benefits of its events. Staff recommended the applicant seek county-level corrections and, if desired, present a resource plan and special-event application to the city so the city could review compatibility with neighborhoods.
Next steps: the city manager and city attorney will send a letter to Orange County describing the complaints and the city's concerns. The commission reiterated that, because the site is outside city jurisdiction, Orange County is the permitting authority for future events on that parcel.
