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Neighborhood report

Neighbors have sweet dreams of quiet sleep

A nearby printing company has lowered its operation's noise after complaints led to official action.

By SHERRI DAY
Published January 20, 2006

Since March, Jennifer Meadows has kept a sleep disturbance log.

Its nearly 380 entries chronicle her battle with nearby truck traffic and industrial noise.

In the wee hours of most mornings, the noise wins.

The source of Meadows' discomfort is Vertis Inc., which prints advertising circulars across the street from her Coachman Avenue house.

For the past year, as Vertis has increased its workload, Meadows and her neighbors say constant noise of trucks and equipment has transformed an otherwise tranquil area into an industrial work zone.

To cope, homeowners have adopted creative measures. They don't open windows. Meadows and her husband, Dan, avoid sitting outside on their new patio.

"My immediate concern is at night. If you're getting four or five hours of sleep at night and being awake every two hours, you can't function," said Meadows, 38, a graphic designer. "Nobody wants to live across the street from what has essentially become a trucking operation. I'm sure it's dragging down our property values."

Led by Meadows, neighbors began taking their complaints to City Hall last year. They also contacted the Hillsborough County Environmental Protection Commission, which in July found noise levels at Vertis violated the city's noise ordinance.

The commission issued a warning and ordered Vertis representatives to conduct a noise study.

Officials from Vertis said they have taken several steps to tamp down truck activity and noise at their site.

Changes include closing entrance gates on Grady Avenue to prevent truck travel on residential streets and providing new signage for truck entrances. "Vertis takes our neighbors' complaints seriously and we continue to take action to address their concerns," the company said in a statement.

"We are committed to ensuring that we meet all Tampa and Hillsborough County requirements, including the noise ordinance, while satisfying the needs of our customers and employees."

City Council member Rose Ferlita, whose office has fielded residents' complaints for the past year, said the noise ordinance's primary problem is the lack of enforcement, particularly as it relates to repeat violators.

"There's no reason that anybody has the right to do that to a neighborhood without being held accountable," she said. Ferlita recently asked the Tampa Police Department and the city's Code Enforcement division to update the council on the noise ordinance and its enforcement. City staff members were scheduled to appear before council Thursday to debut proposed changes to the ordinance.

For now, increased government attention has paid off for neighboring homeowners.

Vertis has reduced the noise, and Meadows has been able to sleep. But Tina Donofrio, who bought her Grady Avenue home 14 years ago, fears the calm won't last long.

"My hope is that they continue to stay as quiet as they've been," Donofrio said. "But they've quieted down (before) and gone back to their normal ways. We can only hope."

- Sherri Day can be reached at sday@sptimes.com or 813 226-3405.

[Last modified January 19, 2006, 08:43:07]