Magistrate finds noise violation against Gulf Boulevard hotel, sets 30‑day status hearing

Special Magistrate Erica Augello found a code violation against the hotel at 6300 Gulf Boulevard after neighbors testified about persistent, disruptive noise from two rooftop chillers and city sound readings showed exceedances of the ordinance limits.

Residents, including Lisette Natoli, told the magistrate the rooftop HVAC units create a “roar” that has made balcony time and the open atrium spaces difficult to use. Natoli said the humming affects daytime as well as nighttime and that, even with sliding doors closed, residents still hear the noise.

City code enforcement officer Lucy Knight presented calibrated sound‑level measurements taken May 7 and June 29. The May daytime reading recorded an ambient level of about 51.4 dB with a source reading of 58.6 dB (adjusted to about 57.6 dB), which exceeded the daytime limit cited in the initial notice. The June 29 early‑morning readings taken to capture nighttime conditions showed all five sampled apartments exceeded the nighttime limit used in the amended notice.

Hotel counsel Kevin Riali and general manager Jeremy DeSilva did not contest the accuracy of the readings but said the parties disagreed about which subsection of the code applied. Riali argued the hotel is governed by a Gulf Boulevard‑specific receiving‑property standard under subsection a(2) and table 1 (with higher thresholds of 55/65 dB) rather than the multifamily receiving‑unit limits (45/50 dB) the city's initial presentation used. The parties stipulated on the record to amend the notice to cite subsection a(2) and table 1.

Riali and DeSilva said the manufacturer acknowledged the fans were operating louder than expected and that engineers have proposed an engineered silencer; the hotel has also installed temporary “blankets” around units that have not fully resolved nighttime exceedances. The hotel requested more time to implement a permanent, engineered solution; no firm timeline was available at the hearing.

Augello said the evidence supports a violation under the amended citation for nighttime noise and declined to set a definitive compliance date, noting an engineered fix may legitimately take time. Instead she ordered a status hearing for Aug. 10 at 10 a.m. and directed the respondent to provide an estimated timetable for the engineered mitigation. The magistrate instructed both parties to keep working cooperatively and said she would issue an order summarizing the finding and the status date.

The case will return on Aug. 10 for the magistrate to review progress toward an engineered solution.