FOSTER CITY — A noise dispute between martial arts studio owner Herb Perez and nearby homeowners has led the city to look into a potential change to the city's noise ordinance.

The disagreement, which first bubbled to the surface during public comments at a City Council meeting Sept. 21, pits residents who are bothered by the shouts that accompany the studio's martial arts classes against a business owner who says he has done everything in his power to accommodate the concerns of the homeowners.

The two parties went through mediation earlier this year with the help of former Mayor John Kiramis and City Manager Jim Hardy but have been unable to resolve the dispute, which is now 2 years old.

The rear of Gold Medal Martial Arts, located off Edgewater Boulevard within Edgewater Place Shopping Center, opens onto a boardwalk running behind the shopping center. The homes affected by the noise are situated directly across the lagoon about 100 yards away.

The shouts from the studio's tae kwon do classes drift across the lagoon through a back door that is left open to help with ventilation. Perez has agreed to explore building a sound barrier on the edge of the boardwalk to muffle the noise, but the homeowners claim he is dragging his feet. Perez maintains he is working through the city's planning process.

Over the past year, the conflict has become increasingly acrimonious. The homeowners have called the police with noise

On Sept. 21, the feud came into public view, when Kramer stood up during public comments and, without referring to Perez or his studio by name, asked the council to consider altering its noise ordinance, which does not place any restrictions on unamplified sounds produced by the human voice.

Perez, also at the meeting, then came to the microphone and identified his business as the source of Kramer's concerns. As he gave his side of the story, he made reference to a video Kramer had shot from his deck to document the noise. In doing so, Perez made a remark about Kramer that some council members found offensive, as did Kramer.

Kramer later asked to show the brief video clip, which he had brought with him as a computer file, but Kiramis — who months earlier had persuaded Perez to run for City Council and endorsed him — didn't allow it.

At the council's next meeting on Oct. 5, Councilwoman Pam Frisella apologized to Kramer for how he'd been treated and the way Kiramis, who had stepped down as mayor in the two weeks between the meetings to move to Southern California, had handled the earlier meeting. The other three council members echoed Frisella's concerns.

Frisella — who is running for re-election against Perez and three other candidates — and City Councilwoman Linda Koelling both said Kiramis hung the rest of the council out to dry by failing to inform them before or during the meeting that he had been involved in the mediation between Perez and the homeowners.

Kiramis had been given several copies of Kramer's video to share with the council, but he never did, Frisella said.

"When someone gives you four videotapes to give to your council members, you should share them," she said.

Kiramis, who has changed his phone numbers since moving to Southern California, could not be reached for comment by e-mail.

Kramer estimates there are a dozen homeowners who are directly impacted by the noise from the studio. There are twice that many who can hear the noise, he said, and roughly 70 neighbors signed a petition asking for a change to the noise ordinance.

The homeowners claim Perez has not followed through on the terms of the mediation, which are confidential. The homeowners said they are willing to waive the confidentiality agreement and discuss the terms of the mediation if Perez agrees to follow suit, but he declined, saying he doesn't trust Kramer.

Perez said he has followed through on what was agreed to in mediation. He has been communicating with Rick Marks, the city's community development director, on the design for a sound baffle, he said. Marks is out of the office and could not be reached for comment Thursday.

Perez claims Kramer has been "tormenting" his studio for two years, and he believes the homeowners are among those responsible for disseminating information to City Council candidates and the media over the past month in an effort to damage his reputation. Kramer denies those charges.

Perez has also argued that those who buy a home near a shopping center should have a reasonable expectation there will be some noise associated with those businesses. He said Kramer is overly sensitive to noise.

"While we are empathetic with Mr. Kramer's desire to change his world, we are more concerned with the children of Foster City and their ability to enjoy their activities," said Perez, noting that Gold Medal serves about 600 area children.

Perez points to his financial and other support for local schools as evidence that his business is a good community partner. Gold Medal has pledged to give $15,000 this fall to Audubon Elementary School to preserve its physical education programs and hopes to raise between $60,000 and $100,000 for Brewer Island Elementary School during a fundraiser next month.

The homeowners say they aren't out to harm Perez's business and their demands could easily be met.

"This whole noise issue would be easily resolved if he'd simply close his doors during class," Kramer said.

The City Council is expected to consider altering its noise ordinance as early as January. The homeowners have proposed that the city look to San Mateo's noise ordinance for guidance.

San Mateo's ordinance prohibits "yelling, shouting, hooting, whistling, or singing ... so as to annoy or disturb unreasonably the quiet, comfort, or repose of reasonable persons of normal sensitiveness."

Perez said that if the City Council chooses to adjust Foster City's noise regulations, he will readily comply.