Here are some of my thoughts about this.
First, I think some clarification of the facts would help. It was said that even music INSIDE at, for example, Big City Grill, stopping at 1 AM, was being stopped, or complained about, by the authorities; if so, it's hard to understand the reason for that, and I found that bothersome. (Margarita Republic, for example, stays open at least that late, doesn't it, without any problems?) And if that is the case, isn't it likely that the CC's and other restaurants would have the same complaints, even if the music were inside? So clarifying with the restaurant owners where the music IS being played inside, and yet is still being objected to, as to exactly what they are being told by the authorities as the basis for complaint would be important to understanding what is motivating the complaints; and, more importantly, how to solve them.
Personally, I have neighbors very near who play outdoor music late in the evening at times, and it doesn't bother us or intrude at all, and our hearing is fine; and if I wanted to not hear the music at all, closing my doors would drown it out completely. We live right across from Lopez, where there is outdoor music at times at night; I cannot hear it unless I am outside, when I hear it faintly, although I can still hear the nightbirds singing at the lake; and when I do, I like the music rather than dead silence. It is hard for me to believe that the level of music I have heard at country club patio areas would be intrusive to even the nearest homes, so I wonder what the number of complaints actually is, which could possibly be learned by going to the meeting that was discussed (unfortunately, the Nov. 24 meeting mentioned in some of the posts is on a date when some of us will be away for Thanksgiving). We are not talking about loud rock bands, but usually karaoke singing or combo groups - not loud heavy metal-type music.
Yes, this is a retirement community, but that sort of begs the question. After all, retirement communities, especially of the type that TV is, are a new creation, and should be governed only by what can best serve the reasonable expectations of retirees of all ages and sentiments; and that means most of us are not going to be perfectly thrilled with everything, but we should come here willing to accept certain 'not ideal to us' things because of the overwhelming benefits we have from living here - and to me, the balance is far in favor of the benefit. Retirement should mean more, not less, freedom. We are retired; not done in. For many people retirement means freedom from the career years when their entire lives had to revolve around a work schedule - at last, the freedom to stay out late with friends, even on weeknights, if one chooses; and shouldn't mean being able to expect a 'shush'ed environment after 8 PM at night (just as we couldn't expect, or demand, that if we lived otherwhere than TV in retirement). I think it is a reasonable expectation that most people moved to TV because of the ability to socialize freely with others who moved here for the same reason. (After all, weren't we the sock-hop generations?) We aren't bedding down babies here. People who want and expect absolute peace and quiet should not, in my opinion, move to a retirement community; they should move to the country, and then drive in their car to a golf course to play.
The work of moving an entire music setup and re-setting it up inside, including the wear and tear on the equipment, is not practical to expect on a regular basis; and many customers will have up and left during such a long interruption in the music.
Plus, the CC's inside are restaurants, and many of them built their dance floors on the patio so that diners could converse while dining; and dancing could be done outside - after all, this is Florida, as we all knew when we moved here! Outdoor living and entertainment is a reasonable expectation for anyone who moved here.
I would say limits of 10 PM for outdoor music on weeknights, midnight for outdoor music on weekends would be reasonable - and whoever is bothered by it should close their windows, and get over it. And no limit on the cut-off time for indoor music (why should this be decided by anyone other than the business owner?)
I think that if these decisions, within parameters along this line, were left to the business owners, the 'problem' would gradually work itself out, as the people who do like night-life would gradually congregate at consensus places, and those businesses that are not getting the late-nighters would choose to close earlier, ie, let the market correct itself. For example, it might become the norm that a certain business is 'the place' to go on Monday night, another business the next, etc. That way the noise 'problem', if it is a problem as perceived by some people, might, at least, move from place to place on different nights.
Finally; hugs always help to figure out solutions at times like this.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vr3x_RRJdd4