Police in Bradenton Beach and Holmes Beach are drawing a line in the sand — on noise.
Bradenton Beach Police Department fined a bar/restaurant $75 for music pouring out its door after numerous verbal warnings.
And in Holmes Beach, between March and the end of May, the city hit 10 owners with $250 fines for second offenses and dished up 29 warnings to first offenders.
In Bradenton Beach, The Freckled Fin owner Scott Lubore was ticketed for music so loud at 101 Bridge St., a witness said “he and his wife were sitting outside at the same table and they had to scream to each other to have a conversation,” according to a police report.
In March, the BBPD had identified an ongoing noise problem at The Freckled Fin and issued warnings to its operators.
Officers in Bradenton Beach issued another verbal warning May 31. After midnight, an officer metered 78-82 dBA within 150-200 feet from the establishment and “finally we reached the point where we cited,” said BBPD Detective Sgt. Lenard Diaz.
Bradenton Beach’s noise ordinance prohibits commercial-area noise levels over 65 dBAs after 10 p.m. and over 55 dBAs after 2 a.m. In residential areas, any noise after 10 p.m. over 55 dBAs is prohibited.
“It’s not fair to the other business owners. We just don’t understand why he keeps doing it,” Diaz added.
Asked about the noise levels identified in the police reports, Lubore said, “We play loud music just like all the others out there on Bridge Street.”
He said his restaurant does “a great job” of keeping the noise down, but the BBPD was responding to complaints of those “who want it even quieter.”
In Holmes Beach, HBPD Chief Bill Tokajer said noise ordinance violators in the last week of May “were repeat offenders and all were given $250 fines.”
One offender was Holmes Beach builder and Anna Maria resident Shawn Kaleta. HBPD cited him May 22 after police were called twice to a party he was holding at a beachfront home he owns on 48th Street.
On the first police visit, Sgt. Kevin Powers observed loud music and people drinking and warned Kaleta that if police received further calls about the noise he’d be cited.
According to an HBPD incident report, Kaleta responded, “Go ahead, I’ve had plenty of tickets.”
Dispatched to the same residence again, Powers took measurements that exceeded the city’s 50 dBA limit and ticketed Kaleta for a second offense.
Holmes Beach’s ordinance prohibits noise measuring more than 50 dBA after 10 p.m. from the sound-generating property line.
According to code enforcement officer David Forbes, citations with $250 fines were issued to:
Incident Date Address Owner
- · March 29 402 71st St. Joseph Darby
- · April 4 202 72nd St. Alan Silber
- · April 16 3260 East Bay Drive Benderson Development
- · April 21 204 72nd St. Shawn Kaleta
- · April 22 4002 Fifth Ave. Oliver Hutner, ALHA Growth, Inc.
- · May 16 518 71st St. Cathy Gaa
- · May 28 6906 Holmes Blvd., DSBRE Holdings, Dale Siebert, Jose Cortez
- · May 28 304 65th St. Mojito Splash, Shawn Kaleta
- · June 7 307B 66th St. 307 66th Street LLC, Shawn Kaleta
Great local coverage. Keep up the good work.