Special Noise Standards for Special Events at Metropolitan Park.
Jacksonville Ordinance Code § 368.109
in effectSec. 368.109. - Special Noise Standards for Special Events at Metropolitan Park.
For any entertainment event, concert or special event held at Metropolitan Park in which it is anticipated that 500 or more individuals will attend the event and amplified sound will be utilized, a Metropolitan Park License Agreement (the "License Agreement") shall be executed between the City and the party requesting use of Metropolitan Park (the "Applicant") for the event (the "Event"). The following requirements for sound control shall apply to such Events and shall be incorporated within the executed License Agreement between the parties:
"This paragraph applies to all applicants of Ticketed Events (an event in which general admission is charged and use of the entire Metropolitan Park property is restricted for the Event) and those applicants of Non-Ticketed Events (event with no general admission and open to the public or an event that has an admission fee but is restricted to a portion of the Metropolitan Park property) who have elected to utilize the sound waiver for production of musical events in which the noise decibel level, pursuant to Chapter 368, Ordinance Code, or Environmental Protection Board Rule 4, is exceeded. Applicant (including all artists, performers, entertainers, sound technicians, employees, and subcontractors of Applicant, and any others participating in production of the Event) shall comply and ensure compliance with the following provisions during the Event:
(a) The hours of event production and sound checks utilizing amplified sound in the Park ("Permitted Hours") is restricted to:
1. Friday - 12 p.m. to 11 p.m.
2. Saturday - 11 a.m. to 11 p.m.
3. Sunday - 12 p.m. to 10 p.m. (unless prior to a Monday which is a holiday in which case the permitted hours are from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m.)
4. Weekday events, other than Holiday events, are 12 p.m. to 10 p.m.
5. Sound checks shall begin not earlier than the later of 9 a.m. on the day of the scheduled Event or four (4) hours prior to the scheduled beginning time on each day of an Event.
6. If weather conditions delay or disrupt the Event, the Permitted Hours may be extended up to 30 minutes beyond the end times stated above.
(b) The maximum allowable sound level, as measured no more than 100 feet perpendicular from the stage at the sound board, shall not exceed the following Broadband levels limits during the applicable time frames:
Time: Permitted Event Hours
Broadband, dB(A) 105
Time: All Non-Permitted Hours
Normal provisions of Chapter 368, Ordinance Code and EPB Rule 4 apply.
Method of Noise Measurement: During a Permitted Event, Environmental Quality Division staff ("EQD") shall measure noise for a continuous five minute period using the time average sound level, also known as the "equivalent continuous sound level" measurement technique ("Leq 5min"). If the Leq 5min exceeds 105 dB(A) during a Leq 5min (a "violation"), a violation shall be registered and EQD shall contact the Primary Sound Compliance Designee and/or the Second Sound Compliance Designee of such violation, in the process described in subsection (c) below, which shall be deemed a notification to Applicant of a sound violation. The Applicant shall have ten (10) minutes following such notification to reduce the noise level to 105 dB(A) or less before EQD will begin the next measurement period, at which time the procedure for Leq 5min measurement shall start over again and the issuance of fines shall occur for additional violations.
If Applicant complies with the sound level restrictions above during the Permitted Event Hours, Applicant shall not be liable for any offsite decibel level noise exceedance pursuant to Chapter 368, Ordinance Code, or Environmental Protection Board Rule 4, during the Permitted Event Hours.
(c) Notification: The purpose of the notification provisions herein is to provide Applicant with a mechanism to correct sound levels after one violation occurs but prior to a subsequent violation being registered by EQD. The reduction in sound levels will not correct an existing violation or prevent a fine from issuance. With this in mind, the Applicant shall designate two individuals as authorized representatives (one primary and one secondary) who shall be notified by the EQD monitoring staff when a violation is recorded. One authorized representative will be the Primary Sound Compliance Designee and the other will be the Secondary Sound Compliance Designee. When a violation is recorded, EQD monitoring staff shall notify the Primary Sound Compliance Designee of the recorded violation. Notification shall occur by the manner designated by Applicant (i.e., by cell phone, pager, text, email, etc.) and indicated in paragraph A2 of this Agreement. If the Primary Sound Compliance Designee does not immediately respond (i.e., does not answer the call), the Secondary Sound Compliance Designee shall be notified. If neither the Primary nor Secondary Sound Compliance Designee respond to the notification, EQD monitoring staff need not make additional attempts to notify the Applicant for that particular recorded violation. The first notification of recorded violation (either to the Primary Sound Compliance Designee or the Secondary Sound Compliance Designee, as applicable) will represent the first and only Warning to the Applicant.
All further notifications of a recorded violation of the sound level standards shall result in fines being imposed against the Applicant as described in subsection (d) below. The Applicant shall have ten (10) minutes from the time of notification of a violation to reduce the sound levels prior to EQD recording a subsequent violation. If neither the Primary nor Secondary Sound Compliance Designees respond to the notification within a particular ten (10) minute time period, EQD shall begin their Leq 5min measurement period again pursuant to the procedure outlined in subsection (b) above, which shall result in an additional fine if a subsequent violation is measured.
(d) Fine Structure: The first violation, as established under (b) above, shall result in a warning. Subsequent violations shall be issued according to the following graduated structure noted below and the fines can be found in www.coj.net/fees:
i. Greater than 105 dB(A) but less than 108 dB(A): per occurrence;
ii. Greater than 108 dB(A) but less than 110 dB(A): per occurrence;
iii. Greater than 110 dB(A) but less than 112 dB(A): per occurrence;
iv. Greater than 112 dB(A) but less than 115 dB(A): per occurrence;
v. Greater than 115 dB(A): per occurrence.
(e) Applicant shall be responsible for the sound monitoring costs associated with the Environmental Quality Division staffing and monitoring of the Event, which costs shall not exceed $1000 per day.
(f) The Event shall occur no longer than 16 hours a day, including time for sound check.
(g) No more than three (3) additional or temporary stages will be permitted for the Event. The additional temporary stages shall be set to face away from the St. Johns River. The location and arrangement of the stages and sound systems shall be in accordance with the Stage Configuration Map attached hereto as Exhibit 2. Sound attenuation blankets or sound walls shall be erected at the rear of any temporary stages. Such temporary stage installations shall be installed in such a manner so as to minimize the noise impact on surrounding residential properties."
All of the foregoing terms shall be included in each License Agreement entered into and may not be waived or altered by City staff.
To the extent that the foregoing conflicts with other provisions of Chapter 368, Ordinance Code, or Environmental Protection Board Rule 4, the provisions of this Section shall govern, supersede and control any inconsistent provisions of Chapter 368, Ordinance Code, or Environmental Protection Board Rule 4, as to any entertainment, concert or special event held at Metropolitan Park in which it is anticipated that 500 or more individuals will attend and amplified sound will be utilized.
(Ord. 2013-676-E, § 1; Ord. 2017-665-E, § 21)
Source: City of Jacksonville, Ordinance Code and Charter and Related Laws (Municode Library, library.municode.com)URL: https://library.municode.com/fl/jacksonville/codes/code_of_ordinances?nodeId=TITXENAF_CH368NOCO_PT1GEPR_S368.109SPNOSTSPEVMEPAFetched: 10/27/2026