Marco Island looks to find solution to residential noise complaints

There’s a push in a Southwest Florida city for people to stop loud nighttime noise near their neighbors.

Marco Island has been in the process of reviewing noise complaints, and the city knows many full-time residents are not happy with nighttime noise from homes, so it’s looking for ways to quiet things down.

Judy Kespelagr told us she’s done with people who party during the day and into the night in their rentals.

“I live across the street from one, and people come up from Miami practically every weekend in this rental home, and they’re very, very noisy, and they party hardy,” Kespelagr said.

Kespelagr said, sometimes, those parties last well past midnight.

Police Chief Tracy Frazzano examined six months of data on noise complaints. She found, from October 2020 to April 2021, the top two types of noise complaints were music from homes and talking outside.

Frazzano’s recommendation is to move what they call “Marco midnight” from 8 p.m. to 9 p.m. so people can enjoy their surroundings.

“We don’t want people to feel they can’t sit on their lanai and have a conversation,” Councilman Rich Blonna said. “On the other hand, we do want to have music turned down to a respectable volume at a respectable time of day.”

Blonna goes a step further. He wants Marco Island to consider a true midnight curfew for areas with bars and restaurants.

“It leaves a little bit more time, so if you’re down for the weekend and you have friends and you’re going to party, we move the party to a local restaurant or bar,” Blonna said.

Moving the party is an idea people we spoke to seem to support.

“There are so many elderly here that go to bed early, get up early, people who work, and in residential neighborhoods, we don’t need that,” Dave Shajgott said.

Marco Island’s city manager says city council will discuss a new noise ordinance possibly as soon as September.

I would get better sleep at night,” Kespelagr said.