West Palm enforcing downtown noise ordinance

Code-enforcement officers with handheld sound meters issued the first set of citations for violations of a new noise ordinance in West Palm Beach.

A bar called Off The Hookah was among the businesses cited for violating the new ordinance, which sets the maximum noise level downtown at 90 decibels for bass and 85 decibels for treble.

Off The Hookah at 314 Clematis Street had been the worst violator of the noise limits when city employees tested the sound meters last year.

The 85/90 decibel limits on downtown noise apply to Clematis Street and the waterfront, and to a commercial area of the mixed-use CityPlace center. The noise limit elsewhere in downtown West Palm Beach is  65 decibels.

The downtown noise limits are enforceable 24 hours a day, every day of the week.  [Palm Beach Post] — Mike Seemuth