PINELLAS COUNTY, fla — Dunedin city leaders voted to approve amendments to the outdoor dining ordinance.
The original ordinance would have required restaurants and bars to vacate their patios at 11 p.m. during the week and midnight on the weekends.
Restaurant and bar owners said that would have been bad for business.
“I mean, everybody was pretty worried leading up to it and then relieved at the result of things,” Devon Kreps with 7venth Sun Brewery said.
Restaurants pushed back against the ordinance, leading city leaders to vote to change it so customers can stay out on the patio past the curfew.
The other issue up for discussion was the noise ordinance. The city said the noise ordinance amendment was clarification to assure decibel requirements were consistent with the Pinellas County Sheriffs Office.
The approved changes say restaurants need to keep the noise level to 65 decibels at the property line.
“This is what we love, and this is what we expected… So I think everybody came together beautifully on it," Michael Lyn Bryant said.
“You know, it might just be time we take a look if HOAs are really even necessary.
Maybe we should just do away with homeowner associations as a whole.”
South Florida lawmaker Rep. Juan Carlos Porras (R-Miami) says it may be time to do away with homeowners associations altogether, as more Floridians speak out about rising fees, costly lawsuits, and even arrests tied to HOA disputes. He said this week that he is considering filing legislation in the next session that would abolish HOAs statewide.
