Sanford bars will have to keep the noise level down even lower late at night or they could face fines.

On Monday night, Sanford city leaders passed a stricter version of the city's noise ordinance after they say they’ve gotten more complaints from homeowners who live near the city’s entertainment area.

Now, after 10 p.m. on weeknights and after 11 p.m. on weekends, businesses will have to keep the noise down to 60 decibels. That’s about what it sounds like to hear normal conversation in a restaurant. 

Doug McLendon said he likes living near Sanford’s entertainment district, and he says the noise isn’t something that keeps him up at night.

“It doesn’t ruin your day or anything because you can hear TV. You can go to sleep if you want to go to sleep,” McLendon said. “The noise itself doesn’t bother us. If you’re inside the house, you can hardly hear it.”

Sanford city leaders scrapped a part of the revised ordinance that would set noise limits during the day and evening hours. At Monday night’s meeting, some city leaders expressed frustrations about a lack of enforcement of the previous noise ordinance that was already in place.​

McLendon said living near lots of activity and entertainment options is why he moved to Sanford’s Historic District in the first place.

“It’s a vibrant city, with a lot of activities going on, and it’s the primary reason we moved here," he said. "And there’s a lot of great events in town on the weekends.”