It shall be unlawful for any person to make, continue, or cause to
be made or continued any unnecessary and unreasonably loud, disturbing
sound which does or is likely to annoy, disturb, injure or endanger
the comfort, repose, health, peace or safety of others and which is
plainly audible (meaning any sound that can be detected, by a person
using his or her unaided hearing faculties) at more than 50 feet from
the property line from which the sound is emanating except that the
distance shall be 25 feet between the hours of 10:00 p.m. and 8:00
a.m. Specifically exempted hereunder is noise presumed not to be a
nuisance pursuant to the Right to Farm Act, N.J.S.A. 4:1C-1 et seq.
Examples. Without intending to limit the generality of Subsection A of this section, the following acts are hereby declared to be examples of loud, disturbing and unnecessary noise in violation of this section:
Homeowner use of equipment (excluding emergency work). Power tools,
home maintenance tools, landscaping and/or yard maintenance equipment
used by a residential property owner or tenant shall not be operated
between the hours of 8:00 p.m. and 8:00 a.m.
Contractor use of equipment. Excluding emergency work, power tools,
landscaping and/or yard maintenance equipment used by nonresidential
operators (e.g., commercial operators, public employees) shall not
be operated on a residential, commercial, industrial or public (e.g.,
golf course, parks, athletic fields) property between the hours of
6:00 p.m. and 8:00 a.m. on weekdays, or between the hours of 6:00
p.m. and 9:00 a.m. on weekends or federal holidays.
All construction and demolition activity, excluding emergency work,
shall not be performed between the hours of 6:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m.
on weekdays, or between the hours of 6:00 p.m. and 9:00 a.m. on weekends
and federal holidays.
Motorized snow removal equipment shall be operated with a muffler
and/or a sound reduction device when being used for snow removal (no
time restriction).
All interior and exterior burglar alarms of a building or motor vehicle
must be activated in such a manner that the burglar alarm terminates
its operation within five minutes for continuous airborne sound and
15 minutes for intermittent sound after it has been activated.
Loud music. Self-contained, portable, nonvehicular music or sound
production devices shall not be operated on a public space or public
right-of-way in such a manner as to be plainly audible at a distance
of 50 feet in any direction from the operator between the hours of
8:00 a.m. and 10:00 p.m. Between the hours of 10:00 p.m. and 8:00
a.m., sound, operated on a public space or public right-of-way, from
such equipment shall not be plainly audible at a distance of 25 feet
in any direction from the operator.
Barking dogs. It shall be unlawful for any property owner or tenant
to allow any domesticated or caged animal to create a sound across
a real property line which unreasonably disturbs or interferes with
the peace, comfort, and repose of any resident, or to refuse or intentionally
fail to cease the unreasonable noise when ordered to do so by a Noise
Control Officer or Noise Control Investigator. Prima facie evidence
of a violation of this section shall include, but not be limited to:
Vocalizing (howling, yelping, barking, squawking etc.) for five
minutes without interruption, defined as an average of four or more
vocalizations per minute in that period; or
No person shall remove or render inoperative, or cause to be
removed or rendered inoperative or less effective than originally
equipped, other than for the purposes of maintenance, repair, or replacement,
of any device or element of design incorporated in any motor vehicle
for the purpose of noise control. No person shall operate a motor
vehicle or motorcycle which has been so modified. A vehicle not meeting
these requirements shall be deemed in violation of this provision
if it is operated stationary or in motion in any public space or public
right-of-way.
No motorcycle shall be operated stationary or in motion unless
it has a muffler that complies with and is labeled in accordance with
the Federal Noise Regulations under 40 CFR Part 205.
Personal or commercial vehicular music amplification or reproduction
equipment shall not be operated in such a manner that it is plainly
audible at distance of 25 feet in any direction from the operator
between the hours of 10:00 p.m. and 8:00 a.m.
Personal or commercial vehicular music amplification or reproduction
equipment shall not be operated in such a manner that is plainly audible
at a distance of 50 feet in any direction from the operator between
the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 10:00 p.m.
Any person who violates or neglects to comply with any provision of this chapter shall, upon conviction thereof, be liable to the general penalty as stated in § 1-3 of the Code of the Township of Mine Hill.