‘This is a colossal waste of our time’: More noise about noise on Marco
Councilman Darrin Palumbo is appalled. “Police can knock on doors just for people talking,” he said during a recent City Council meeting. “Educating someone that is not doing anything wrong is insulting. I would find it insulting to me.”
But knocking on doors and educating someone after receiving a noise complaint is part of the job, explained Marco Island Police Chief Tracy Frazzano.
Frazzano was asked to speak at the May 23 council meeting to explain what happens when someone calls in a noise complaint, the number of complaints and the rules surrounding complaints. This comes after police have been receiving calls for noise complaints about children swimming in a pool, toddlers having a birthday party, or simply adults talking or laughing on their lanai.
A Florida state stature states that people can be prosecuted for giving a false report. But it must be proven that the caller knew it was false, the complaint must be non-existent or untrue and the officer must confirm it is false. Since 2009 there have been no documented false complaints, in Collier County, Frazzano said. A Florida law also prohibits officers from responding to an anonymous complaint.
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In the past seven months there have been 209 noise complaint calls. Seventeen of those were repeat callers who logged 41 complaints. Most of the time, by the time officers arrived, it was quiet.
“Police roll up with lights flashing and get out to investigate. That tips the people to stop making the noise,” Councilman Richard Blonna said as he stated info from an email he received. “Why couldn’t there be a more-stealthy approach where officers park down the street and walk up to see if there is noise.”
Frazzano said it is a safety issue because officer’s cars on a main street need to have their lights on.
Councilman Erik Brechnitz voiced his frustration with the whole agenda item.
“This is a colossal waste of our time,” he stressed. “How do you ever prosecute anyone for a false noise complaint? By the time the officers get out of their car, the noise is gone. I am offended that it is even on the agenda taking up our time.”
Councilman Jared Grifoni disagreed.
“I think it is extremely important that we understand the actions that are taken as a city especially when we are criminalizing people for spending time in their backyards,” he stated.
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Councilwoman Becky Irwin thinks the whole thing has been getting out of control. She said the vacation rental ordinance, with its rule that no noise be heard within 50 feet during the day and 25 feet at night, has exploded into a bigger issue than it should be.
“That is only 209 calls in seven months, only about one per day and of the valid ones it brings it down to about two per month on average. “Even one call a day for noise is not our biggest problem. We should be ok with putting up with other people in our space. I would really like to see this calm down. We all live together and I feel all this much ado about a couple of calls.”
Residents also weighed in on the issue during the meeting.
“Why would anyone file a false complaint?” questioned Randy Egan. “They are trying to upset the tourist. They see a uniformed officer at their door and it is scary. It makes our tourists uncomfortable so they don’t come back.”
“One call was for an 80-year-old couple playing cards on Christmas Eve,” added Peter Rigas. “They were targeted. They call in when someone is playing in the pool. The noise complaint contains false information. It is a real problem. I don’t appreciate it being dismissed as a solution looking for a problem. One person had 17 calls into the police for violations. When it is your home that is being maliciously targeted, I think something should be done about it.”
Palumbo said something should also be done about people being forced to have a police visit when a complaint is made, but Frazzano said that is policy.
“We do two different things when we show up on the calls,” Frazzano explained. “If there is no noise, we don’t knock on the door. But if there is some noise we do knock on the door and explain the ordinance. I think we do more education than anything else. The majority of people don’t know there is a noise ordinance, so they would not know to shut it down.”
But Palumbo is upset that police will educate people who are simply having a conversation on their lanai or splashing in their pool.
“The police do a very good job, but I think the community has set this culture of guilty until proven innocent,” Palumbo said. “If you live next to me at this time you hear nothing. I have three jobs. Nobody has been in our pool in a year. But any renter by virtue of being here they are absolutely going to be more active. They will be on the lanai every day. But the question is, are they breaking any of our rules? Just because their lifestyle is more active than yours doesn’t mean it is wrong and that makes me concerned about how we will be viewed as a community.”