SHCC approves code amendments for food trucks, outdoor music and entertainment
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The Safety Harbor City Commission approved changes to several city codes on first reading Monday night, including expanding the hours of operation for food trucks in town from 3:00 p.m. to close Friday through Sunday and making live entertainment an allowable use at taverns, breweries and retail establishments.
The five commissioners also approved an ordinance clarifying the current code language regarding outdoor music and amplified noise, prohibiting outdoor music citywide between the hours of 10:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m. (11:00 p.m. until 7:00 a.m. in the downtown district).
The decisions came after months of discussions over proposals that were initiated by Crooked Thumb Brewery owner Kip Kelly, who last summer petitioned the city to expand its restrictions for food trucks and for live music.
After hearing arguments on both sides, the commission agreed to changes that amounted to a compromise for all those involved.
“The food truck part was to benefit Crooked Thumb, because they asked to expand the hours, and we worked together to keep the outdoor music from going too late,” Mayor Andy Steingold told Safety Harbor Connect immediately after the Feb. 6 commission meeting.
“So we worked with their requests and came up with a compromise (Kelly) was happy with.”
For his part Kelly, who along with business partner Travis Kruger opened the city’s first, and only, brewery in October 2015, said he was satisfied with the commission’s decision, though he was quick to point out he didn’t want the city to make changes just for their benefit.
“All we were looking to do is add music as an accessory use,” Kelly said by phone, adding “we’d like to have food trucks more frequently than that, maybe an additional day, but I’m happy with what it is. I think it’s a perfectly acceptable compromise.”
“But the one area where I think they kinda stubbed their toe is the noise ordinance,” he added. “The standard Safety Harbor had has been workable for a long time, and we already care about our neighbors. I didn’t want to see a citywide change to the noise ordinance just for us.”
Regardless of the semantics or parameters of the new ordinances, the fact that compromises could be reached on the issues represented a step in the right direction following a year of conflict on a number of issues related to the future of the city.
According to Steingold, who announced in early December he would not seek reelection this March, these types of conflicts always crop up during an election cycle.
“Only during times of campaigning is there a high sense of acrimony in the community,” the mayor said.
“The reality is, everybody loves to work together to compromise and get things done.”
With the decision to officially allow live music at his Tenth Avenue South establishment, Kelly said he and Krueger will continue to work with neighboring residents and business owners to make the brewery as community friendly as possible.
“I’m excited they decided to codify the live music at more than just sit-down food establishments,” he said.
“We already put up a privacy fence, and now we can look at building a platform that will direct the music towards the building and away from the neighbors.”
In addition to the above mentioned changes, other proposed amendments to the codes include allowing food trucks to operate, without a special permit, from 7:00 a.m. until 3:00 p.m. on weekdays for employees in the city’s industrial districts; clarifying that the playing of music shall be deemed to be outdoors if the speakers or instruments are not located inside a building; adds a definition for entertainment as “the live performance or playing of music by an individual, group of individuals, band or disc jockey”; and changing the “planning and zoning director” to “Community Development Director,” a position currently held by Marcie Stenmark.
The food truck and entertainment ordinances will go before the commission for a second, and final reading, on March 6. The noise ordinance, which had to be rewritten, will go for a first reading at that time, also.
Related content:
- Food truck issue ties City Commission in knots
- City sets up email address to get food truck feedback
- Commission considers brewpub district in downtown Safety Harbor
I wasn’t able to attend, but I thought the code of ethics was to be discussed again this week. I see no mention of it here. Maybe they just ran out of time?
Separate issue, Steven. It will be addressed in an upcoming article. Thanks.
Ahh, Gotcha. Thank you.
Any chance we can get an article that gets to the truth of the condo matter? Had someone come to my door and lie to my face from the Hooper campaign last week.
The excessively lying on the part of Janet hooper and her supporters is unbelievable whether it is them ringing your doorbell and lying to your face or putting untruthful information on your door. One of her supporters, a man in a mustache that drives a Mercedes is even ringing doorbells and saying you shouldn’t be supporting Joe Ayoub. They really have a lot of nerve.
Steven, check out the recent post on Smart Growth Safety including some answers from the city manager about the condo project. https://www.facebook.com/Smart-Growth-Safety-Harbor-1693094340945075/
As always, Shelly Schellenberg, city board member, continues to lie and mislead the community as do Ms. Hooper and her supporters. The project was approved in 2003 and Joe and staff were presented with a modification in 2008. They made a reasonable and rationale decision, at a time of economic turmoil, that shrunk the footprint from 2 buildings to 1, added an additional level of underground parking, and one more floor, without increasing the height. They also placed some time limits on the project that were not already in place. That sounds like effective negotiating and city planning, given the project was ALREADY approved in 2003. A no vote would have resorted back to the prior site plan. It is not as simple as the Hooper camp will lead you to believe since it already WAS APPROVED IN 2003.