Excessive noise poses a danger to the health, safety, and welfare of
persons within the Town of North Haven and a detriment to their quality of
life. Therefore, this chapter is enacted to promote an environment free from
noise that jeopardizes the health, safety, welfare, and quality of life of
persons within the Town of North Haven through the control, reduction, and
prevention of excessive sound and vibration.
When used in this chapter, the terms below shall have the following
meanings:
BACKGROUND NOISE
Noise which exists at a point as a result of the combination of many
distant sources, individually indistinguishable. In statistical terms, it
is the level which is exceeded 90% of the time (L90) in which the measurement
is taken.
CONSTRUCTION
Any site preparation, assembly, erection, substantial repair, alteration
or similar action, but excluding demolition for or of public or private rights-of-way,
structures, utilities or similar property.
DAY
From 7:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m., local time.
DECIBEL
A logarithmic unit of measure used in measuring magnitudes of sound.
The symbol is dB.
DEMOLITION
Any dismantling, intentional destruction or removal of structures,
utilities, public or private right-of-way surfaces or similar property.
EMERGENCY
Any occurrence involving actual or imminent danger to persons or
damage to property which demands immediate action.
EMITTER
The person who creates, causes to be created, or allows the noise.
EXCESSIVE NOISE
Any sound, the intensity of which exceeds the standards set forth in §
146-4 of this chapter.
IMPULSE NOISE
A sound of short duration, usually less than one second, and a high
intensity, with an abrupt onset and rapid delay. Examples include an explosion,
a discharge of a firearm, or a screech.
INFRASONIC SOUND
Sound-pressure variations having frequencies below the audible range
for humans.
MOTOR VEHICLE
Defined as per § 14-1 of the Connecticut General Statutes.
NIGHT
From 9:00 p.m. until 12:00 midnight, and from 12:00 midnight until
7:00 a.m.
NOISE SOURCE
Any individual, equipment, machine or other item or thing that creates
a sound.
PEAK SOUND-PRESSURE LEVEL
The absolute maximum value of the instantaneous sound-pressure level
occurring in a specified period of time.
PERSON
Any individual, firm, partnership, association, syndicate, company,
trust, corporation, municipality, agency or political or administrative subdivision
of the state or other legal entity of any kind.
RECEPTOR
The person who receives the noise impact.
SOUND
A transmission of energy through solid, liquid or gaseous media in
the form of vibrations which constitute alterations in pressure or position
of the particles in the medium and which, in air, evoke physiological sensations,
including, but not limited to, an auditory response when impinging on the
ear.
SOUND LEVEL
The A-weighted sound pressure level, expressed in decibels (dBA),
measured on a sound level meter property calibrated and operating on the A-weighting
network.
SOUND LEVEL METER
An instrument which includes a microphone, amplifier, RMS detector,
integrator or averager, output meter and weighting networks used to take sound
level measurements, which should conform, at a minimum, to the requirements
set forth in the American National Standards Institute's American National
Standard for Sound Level Meters [ANSI S.1.5-1971 (Type S2A) Sound Level Meter].
ULTRASONIC SOUND
Sound-pressure variations having frequencies above the audible sound
spectrum for humans.
VARIANCE
A difference between the standards which are required by this chapter
and that which is permitted to exist.
VIBRATION
An oscillatory motion of solid bodies of deterministic or random
nature described by displacement, velocity or acceleration with respect to
a given reference point.
No person shall discharge into the ambient air the blow-down of any
steam vent of the exhaust of any stationary internal combustion engine or
air compressor equipment, unless such discharge is through a muffler or through
an apparatus providing equal noise reduction.
This chapter shall not apply to:
A. Sound generated by natural phenomena, including but not
limited to wind, storms, insects, birds, amphibious creatures and water flowing
in its natural course.
B. The unamplified sound of human voices.
C. The unamplified sound made by any wild or domestic animal.
D. Sound created by bells, carillons or chimes associated
with specific religious observances.
E. Sound created by a public emergency sound signal attached
to any authorized emergency vehicle in the immediate act of responding to
an emergency or located within or attached to a building, pole or other structure
for the purpose of sounding an alarm relating to fire or civil preparedness.
F. Sound created by safety and protective devices, provided
that such device is sounded as a warning of imminent danger or from the release
of pressure buildup.
G. Sound created by intrusion alarms, provided that the
emission of noise from such devices, from the time of activation of audible
signal, does not exceed 10 minutes when attached to any vehicle or 30 minutes
when attached to any building or structure. The repetition of activation of
the audible signal of an intrusion alarm due to malfunction, lack of proper
maintenance, or lack of reasonable care shall be considered excessive noise.
H. Backup alarms required by Occupational Safety and Health
Administration (OSHA) or other municipal, state, or federal safety regulations.
I. Farming equipment or farming activity.
The following noise shall be exempted from the provisions of this chapter.
A. Noise created by signal testing, principally siren-tested
by city fire departments and civil preparedness units.
B. Noises created by snow removal equipment at any time,
provided that noise discharged from exhausts is adequately muffled to prevent
loud noises therefrom.
C. Noise created by blasting, provided that the blasting
is conducted between 8:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. at specified hours provided for
in the permits necessary to conduct such activity.
D. Noise generated by the operation of any tools or equipment used in construction, drilling, or demolition work between the hours of 7:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m. on weekdays and between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays provided that the noise generated therefrom does not exceed the limits set forth in §
146-4. This section does not apply to the use of domestic power tools subject to §
146-8E below.
E. Noise generated by the operation of any mechanically powered or gasoline powered saw, drill, sander, grinder, lawn or garden tool, or other domestic power tool or equipment between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 9:00 p.m. provided that the noise generated therefrom does not exceed the limits set forth in §
146-4. This section does not apply to the use of snow-removal equipment (see §
146-8B herein).
F. Noise created by on-site recreational or sporting activity
that is sanctioned by town government, provided that the noise created by
the activity is adequately muffled to prevent loud noises therefrom.
G. Patriotic or public celebrations not extending longer
than one calendar day, such as parades, carnivals, and firework displays,
are exempted, provided that any necessary permits have been obtained.
H. Noise created by aircraft or components designed for
or utilized in the development of aircraft.
Nothing in any portion of this chapter shall in any manner be construed
as authorizing or legalizing the creation or maintenance of a nuisance, and
compliance of a source with this chapter is not a bar to a claim of nuisance
by any person. A violation of any portion of this chapter shall not be deemed
to create a nuisance per se.
If any provision of this chapter or the application thereof to any person
or circumstances is held to be invalid, such invalidity shall not affect other
provisions or applications of any other part of this chapter which can be
given effect without the invalid provisions or application; and to this end,
the provisions of this chapter and the various applications thereof are declared
to be severable.