Groveland Twp.-By 4-0 vote Monday night, the township board of trustees OK’d a commercial noise ordinance that would curtail excessive sound late in the evening. Trustee David Ax was absent.
The ordinance comes after residents in the Thread Valley and Bavarian Woods subdivisions just to the east of Bottoms Up Food & Spirits, 14007 Dixie Highway, complained that drumming by patrons of the Renaissance Festival, who often frequent the popular eatery, continues late into the night.
‘We’ve had complaints about the drumming for the past seven or eight years,? said Bob DePalma, township supervisor. ‘We’ve asked them to stop several times, but to no avail. So we put together this noise ordinance based on language used by other communities.?
Key in the ordinance is a decibel level of 85, about the sound of city traffic from inside a car, lawnmower, shop tools, or truck traffic. Enforcement of the commercial noise ordnance could be an issue since the township does not own a decibel meter.
DePalma suggests borrowing a meter if one is needed to check the sound level.
Ronald and Phadia Reed, owners of Bottoms Up Food & Spirits, understand the need for a noise ordinance in the township, however they questioned several aspects regarding enforcement of the rules.
‘The drumming only happens seven days out of the year,? said Reed. ‘They know we’re not that loud, but sound carries a great distance through the area. If those people in the subdivision who are complaining would just close their windows, they are probably not going to hear the drums on those nights when the Renaissance folks gather.?
‘The township has been good to us, but it’s just not fair to implement a vague ordinance and give the enforcement officer the last say in what constitutes noise.?