[HISTORY: Adopted by the City Council of
the City of Marlborough 10-6-1986 by Ord. No. 86-932D[1] (Ch. 134 of the 1986 Code). Amendments noted where applicable.]
GENERAL REFERENCES
Alarm systems — See Ch. 235.
Peddling and soliciting — See Ch. 468.
Zoning — See Ch. 650.
[1]
Editor's Note: This ordinance supersedes former
Ch. 134, Noise, adopted as Sec. 10-15 of the 1965 Code.
A.
Declaration of findings and policy. Whereas excessive
sound is a serious hazard to the public health and welfare and safety
and the quality of life; and whereas a substantial body of science
and technology exists by which excessive sound may be substantially
abated; and whereas the people have a right to and should be ensured
an environment free from excessive sound that may jeopardize their
health or welfare or safety or degrade the quality of life; now, therefore,
it is the policy of the City of Marlborough to prevent excessive sound
which may jeopardize the health and welfare or safety of its citizens
or degrade the quality of life.
B.
Scope.
(1)
This chapter shall apply to the control of all sound
originating within the limits of the City of Marlborough, except as
follows.
(2)
Provisions in this chapter shall not apply to:
(a)
The emission of sound for the purpose of alerting
persons to the existence of an emergency or the emission of sound
in the performance of emergency work or in training exercises related
to emergency activities.
(b)
Noncommercial public speaking and public assembly
activities as guaranteed by state and federal constitutions.
(c)
Devices used in conjunction with places of religious
worship.
(d)
All snow clearance activities.
A.
Enforcement responsibilities. The Police Department
shall be charged with the enforcement of the provisions of this chapter.
The Board of Health, in compliance with MGL c. 21A, § 8,
shall assist in the enforcement of this chapter.
B.
Departmental actions. All City departments and agencies
shall, to the fullest extent consistent with other laws, carry out
their programs in such a manner as to further the policy of this chapter.
C.
Departmental compliance with other laws. All City
departments and agencies shall comply with federal and state laws
and regulations and the provisions and intent of this chapter respecting
the control and abatement of noise to the same extent that any person
is subject to such laws and regulations.
A.
General prohibition of noise emissions. No person
or persons owning, leasing or controlling the operation of any source
or sources of noise shall willfully, negligently or through failure
to provide the necessary equipment or facilities or to take necessary
precautions permit the establishment of a condition of noise pollution.
B.
Specific prohibitions. All electric motors and internal-combustion engines employed in outdoor construction, demolition or earthmoving shall be prohibited from use every evening from 7:00 p.m. until 7:00 a.m. the following morning, except Sunday, when all such devices shall be prohibited from operating at any hour except by a variance issued by the Board of Health in accordance with the provisions of § 431-5, unless declared as emergency work pursuant to § 431-1B(2)(a).
A.
This chapter shall apply to the use or occupancy of
any lot or structure thereon and to the noise produced thereby but
shall not apply to the intermittent or occasional use, during the
daytime, of homeowners' light residential outdoor equipment or commercial
service equipment.
B.
No person shall create or cause to be emitted from
or by any source subject to this chapter any noise which causes or
results in a maximum noise level, measured at any lot line of any
lot located in a Marlborough zoning district, in excess of the levels
defined by Tables 1.0 and 2.0.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: Tables 1.0 and 2.0 are included
at the end of this chapter.
C.
Correction for character of sound. For any source
of noise which emits a pure tone, the maximum sound-pressure level
limits and single-number dBA equivalents set forth in Table 2.0 shall
be reduced by 5 dB.
D.
All noise-level measurements made pursuant to this
chapter shall be made with a Type I or II A-weighted sound-level meter
as specified under the American National Standards Institute (ANSI)
standards.
A.
The Board of Health shall have the authority, consistent with this chapter, to grant special variances which may be requested pursuant to § 431-3B herein.
B.
Any person seeking a special variance pursuant to
this section shall file an application with the Board of Health.
(1)
The application shall contain information which demonstrates
that bringing the source of sound or activity for which the special
variance is sought into compliance with this chapter would constitute
an unreasonable hardship on the applicant, on the community or on
other persons.
(2)
The Board of Health shall establish appropriate procedures
for processing applications for such variances, including such hearing
as the Board of Health deems appropriate.
C.
In determining whether to grant or deny the application,
the Board of Health shall balance the hardship to the applicant, the
community and other persons of not granting the special variance against
the adverse impact on health, safety and welfare of persons affected,
the adverse impact on property affected and any other adverse impacts
of granting the special variance. Applicants for special variances
and persons contesting special variances may be required to submit
any information the Board of Health may reasonably require. In granting
or denying an application, the Board of Health shall place in the
office of the City Clerk a copy of the decision and the reasons for
denying or granting the special variance.
D.
Special variances shall be granted by notice to the
applicant containing all necessary conditions, including a time limit
on the permitted activity. The special variance shall not become effective
until all conditions are agreed to by the applicant. Noncompliance
with any condition of the special variance shall terminate it and
subject the person holding it to those provisions of this chapter
regulating the source of sound or activity for which the special variance
was granted.
A.
The owner of any commercial or industrial source of sound may apply to the Board of Health for a variance in time to comply with § 431-4. The Board of Health shall have the authority, consistent with this chapter, to grant a variance. No such variance shall be granted which has the effect of exempting an activity from compliance with this chapter.
B.
Any person seeking a variance in time to comply shall
file an application with the Board of Health.
(1)
The application shall contain information which demonstrates
that bringing the source of sound or activity for which the variance
is sought into compliance with this chapter prior to the date requested
in the application would constitute an unreasonable hardship on the
applicant, on the community or on other persons.
(2)
The Board of Health shall establish appropriate procedures
for applications for such variances, including such hearings as the
Board of Health deems appropriate.
C.
In determining whether to grant or deny the application,
the Board of Health shall balance the hardship to the applicant, the
community and other persons of not granting the variance in time to
comply against the adverse impact on health, safety and welfare of
persons affected, the adverse impact on property affected and any
other adverse impacts of granting the variance. In granting or denying
an application, the Board of Health shall place in the office of the
City Clerk a copy of the decision and the reasons for denying or granting
the variance in time to comply.
D.
Variances in time to comply shall be granted to the
applicant containing all necessary conditions, including a schedule
for achieving compliance. The variance in time to comply shall not
become effective until all conditions are agreed to by the applicant.
Noncompliance with any condition of the variance shall terminate the
variance and subject the person holding it to those provisions of
this chapter for which the variance was granted.
E.
Applications for an extension of time limits specified in variances in time to comply or for modification of other substantial conditions shall be treated like applications for initial variances under Subsection B, except that the Board of Health must find that the need for the extension or modification clearly outweighs any adverse impacts of granting the extension or modifications.
Any person who violates any provision of this
chapter, if convicted, shall be fined no less than $50 nor more than
$100 for the first offense and not less than $200 nor more than $300
for each succeeding offense. Each day or part thereof of violation
of any provision of this chapter, whether such violation is continuous
or intermittent, shall be construed as a separate and succeeding offense.
For the purposes of this chapter, the following
words and phrases shall have the meanings respectively ascribed to
them by this section:
Noise from all sources other than a particular sound that
is of interest, e.g., other than the sound being measured.
All engine- or motor-powered equipment intended for infrequent
service work in inhabited areas, typically requiring commercial or
skilled operators. Examples of commercial service equipment are chain
saws, log chippers, paving rollers, etc.
Any site preparation, assembly, erection, substantial repair,
alteration, destruction or similar action for public or private rights-of-way,
structures, utilities or similar property.
The period between the hours of 7:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m. daily.
The abbreviation for decibel.
The A-weighted sound level in decibels, as measured by a
general-purpose sound-level meter complying with the provisions of
the American National Standards Institute Specifications for Sound
Level Meters (ANSI S1.4 1971), properly calibrated and operated on
the A-weighting network.
Any occurrence or set of circumstances involving actual or
imminent physical trauma or property damage which demands immediate
action.
Any work performed for the purpose of preventing or alleviating
the physical trauma or property damage threatened or caused by an
emergency.
The value specified by the manufacturer as the recommended
maximum loaded weight of a single motor vehicle. In cases where trailers
and tractors are separable, the gross combination weight rating (GCWR),
which is the value specified by the manufacturer as the recommended
maximum loaded weight of the combination vehicle, shall be used.
All engine- or motor-powered garden or maintenance tools
intended for repetitive use in residential areas, typically capable
of being used by a homeowner. Examples of homeowner's light residential
outdoor equipment are lawn mowers, garden tools, power tools, riding
tractors, snowblowers, snowplows, etc.
The abbreviation for Hertz, and is equivalent to cycles per
second.
A single tract of land in identical ownership throughout,
with definite boundaries ascertainable through a recorded plan or
deed.
Any vehicle which is propelled or drawn on land by a motor,
such as but not limited to passenger cars, trucks, buses, truck-trailers,
semitrailers, campers, go-carts, snowmobiles, dune buggies or racing
vehicles, including motorcycles.
The presence of that amount of acoustic energy for that amount
of time necessary to:
An individual, partnership, association, firm, syndicate,
company, trust, corporation, department, bureau or agency or any other
entity recognized by law as the subject of rights and duties.
Any sound which can be distinctly heard as a single pitch
or a set of single pitches. For the purposes of this chapter, a "pure
tone" shall exist if an octave-band analysis indicates one octave
band 3 dB or more over both the band above and below.
Twenty times the logarithm (to the base 10) of the ratio
of the sound pressure to the reference sound pressure. [The reference
sound pressure shall be equal to 20 micropascals.] Unless otherwise
stated, the level is understood to be that of a root-mean-square pressure.
The zoning districts and land uses therein as established
by the Zoning Code of the City of Marlborough.[1]
A.
Devices covered. It shall be unlawful for any person
owning or having the care, custody or possession of any musical instrument,
radio set, phonograph, Victrola, television or other machine or device
for producing or reproducing sound to operate or use, or permit to
be operated or used, such machine or device in such manner as to disturb
the peace and comfort of the neighboring inhabitants or at any time
with louder volume than is necessary for convenient hearing for the
person who is in the room or chamber or vehicle in which such machine
or device is operated and who is voluntarily listening thereto.
B.
Restrictions on operations. The operation of any such
machine or device at any time of the day or night in such manner as
to be plainly audible at a distance of 25 feet from the building,
structure or vehicle in which said machine or device is located or,
in the case of a portable sound-producing device, being carried or
transported and operated in a public way so as to be heard more than
25 feet from the machine or device, such described operation shall
be prima facie evidence of a violation of this chapter, whether or
not such operation conforms to the noise standard(s) elsewhere provided
and set forth in this chapter.
C.
Exceptions. Nothing contained in this section shall
be construed to prohibit playing by a band or orchestra or use of
a public-address system or a sound-production machine in a hall or
building or at an open-air event duly authorized and/or licensed for
the purposes of public assembly.
A.
The following acts are specifically prohibited by
this chapter, and the causing or allowing of the occurrence of said
acts is hereby declared to be in violation of this chapter:
(1)
No person, when not in traffic, shall operate the
engine providing motive power or an auxiliary engine of a motor vehicle
with a manufacturer's gross vehicle weight rating of 10,000 pounds
or more for a consecutive period longer than five minutes while such
vehicle is standing and located within 300 feet of a building or structure
used, in whole or in part, for residential purposes in any zone of
the City, except where such vehicle is standing within a completely
enclosed structure. This section shall not apply to delivery or pickup
vehicles that require the operation of the engine to unload or load
their vending loads nor to the operation of vehicles carrying products
which must be kept refrigerated.
(2)
No person shall operate within the speed limits specified
in this section either a motor vehicle or a combination of vehicles
of a type subject to registration at any time or under any condition
of grade, load, acceleration or deceleration in such manner as to
exceed the noise limit listed in this section for the category of
motor vehicle, based on the legal speed limit, posted or not, of the
road or way on which operated; such noise to be measured at a distance
of no more than 50 feet from the center line of travel under test
procedures established in this section. In the event that the distance
of the measuring instrument from the center line of travel is less
than 50 feet, such listed noise limits shall be corrected to reflect
the equivalent noise limits for the actual distance.
(a)
Following are the maximum noise levels that
are permitted for the specified noise sources:
|
Stationary Run-Up
| |||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Maximum Noise Level Permitted
[dB(A)]
| |||
|
Vehicle Class
|
35 mph
Speed Limit
or Less
|
35 to 45
mph
Speed Limit
| |
|
All vehicles over 10,000 pounds' GVWR
|
86
|
90
| |
|
All motorcycles
|
82
|
82
| |
|
Automobiles and light trucks
|
75
|
75
| |
(b)
Measurements shall be made at a distance of
50 feet from the closest point of pass by of a source or 50 feet from
a stationary vehicle.
(c)
This section applies to the total noise from
a vehicle or combination of vehicles and shall not be construed as
limiting or precluding the enforcement of any other provisions of
this Code relating to motor vehicle muffler or noise control.
(d)
The measurement of sound or noise shall be made
with a sound-level meter meeting the standards prescribed by the American
National Standards Institute (ANSI) or its successor body. The instrument
shall be maintained in calibration and good working order. A calibration
check shall be made of the system at the time of any noise measurement.
(e)
Measurements recorded shall be taken so as to
provide proper representation of the noise source. The microphone
during measurement shall be positioned so as not to create any unnatural
enhancement or diminution of the measured noise. A windscreen for
the microphone shall be used when required. Traffic, aircraft and
other transportation noise sources and other background noises shall
not be considered in taking measurements, except where such background
noise interferes with the primary noise being measured.
(f)
Every motor vehicle shall, at all times, be
equipped with a muffler in good working order and in constant operation
to prevent noise which exceeds the dB(A) levels indicated in this
section.
(3)
No person shall operate a motorized recreational vehicle,
including but not limited to motorboats, dirt bikes, dune buggies,
go-carts, mopeds, motorbikes or snowmobiles, or permit the operation
of one or more of such recreational vehicles, individually or in a
group or in an organized racing event, on public or private property
in such a manner as to create a condition of noise pollution across
a residential real property boundary.
