NAPLES, Fla. — A fight between neighbors and an outdoor music venue has spilled over into the Collier County commissioners’ chambers — and soon it could mean tighter regulations for people who want to see an outdoor concert in Naples.
At Tuesday’s meeting, the commissioners started a discussion of tightening restrictions on outdoor concerts. The issue was raised after residents complained about the noise coming from those events.
Now the county commissioners are looking into rules that could eliminate outdoor music at certain venues.
Celebration Park contains eight different food truck options here off Bayshore Drive in Naples. During the winter season, the park has live music seven nights a week — and some neighbors say that’s too much.
“You wouldn’t believe, being this distance away from the venue, how loudly and clearly we can actually hear that music that’s playing down there,” said Naples resident Caitlin Schubert.”
Schubert lives about four blocks from Celebration Park and has lived in the neighborhood all her life.
She said the neighborhood was once family-friendly — but now she has trouble getting her 1-year-old and 3-year-old to sleep since the food truck park opened three years ago.
“We’re not against the music,” Schubert said. “We’re simply asking that it be turned down to reasonable levels to which the venue itself and the community can both coexist and be happy.”
Schubert and her neighbors have complained to their county commissioner, Penny Taylor, many times. That’s one of the reasons Taylor started a discussion about outdoor concerts at Tuesday’s commission meeting.
Taylor proposed allowing outdoor concerts only at certain venues that are far from neighborhoods.
“I’ve spent tens of thousands of dollars trying to be a good neighbor,” Celebration Park owner Rebecca Maddox said. “I am a good neighbor.”
Maddox said she uses monitors to ensure the decibel level at Celebration Park stays below 72, which she said is the county’s max.
“I purchased for the park some kind of expensive monitors, and we monitor ourselves constantly,” she said. “We’re usually within 65 to 68 decibel territory.”
Commissioner Penny Taylor said she isn’t against all live music. She just wants to have large gatherings of music at locations that can handle a lot of people — like the new sports complex or the county fairgrounds.
No decisions were made by the commissioners today, but Taylor said they will discuss the matter at a future meeting.
