The Town/Village of East Rochester hereby intends
to prohibit all excessive noise from all sources subject to its police
power in order to preserve, protect and promote the public health,
safety and welfare and the peace, quiet, comfort and repose of the
inhabitants of the Town/Village and visitors thereto and to prevent
injury to human, plant and animal life, property and business, to
foster the convenience and comfort of its inhabitants and to facilitate
the enjoyment of the natural attractions of the Town/Village.
As used in this chapter, the following terms
shall have the meanings indicated:
ACTIVITY
Any act or combination of acts which actually results in
the production of sound.
ADMINISTRATOR
The Chief of Police of the Town/Village of East Rochester,
or his designated representative.
APPARATUS
Any mechanism which prevents, controls, detects, measures
or records the production of sound.
A SCALE
The measurement of sound approximating the auditory sensitivity
of the human ear as measured with a sound-level meter using the A-weighting
network. The unit of measurement is the dB(A).
AUTHORIZED EMERGENCY VEHICLE
Every ambulance, police vehicle, fire vehicle and civil defense
vehicle.
[Added at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions,
Art. I)]
CONSTRUCTION
Any or all activity, except tunneling, necessary or incidental
to the erection, demolition, assembling, altering, installing or equipping
of buildings, public or private highways, roads, premises, parks,
utility lines (including such lines in already constructed tunnels)
or other property, including land clearing, grading, excavating and
filling.
CONSTRUCTION DEVICE
Any device designed and intended for use in construction,
including but not limited to any air compressor, pile driver, manual
tool, bulldozer, pneumatic hammer, steam shovel, derrick, crane or
steam or electric host.
C-WEIGHTED SOUND LEVEL
The sound-pressure level, in decibels, as measured on a sound-level
meter using the C-weighting network. The level so read is designated
"dB(C)" or "Dbc."
DECIBEL
The unit of sound measurement, on a logarithmic scale, of
the ratio of the magnitude of a particular sound pressure to a standard
reference pressure which, for the purpose of this chapter, shall be
0.0002 microbar.
DEVICE
Any construction device, emergency signal device, internal
combustion engine, motor vehicle, muffler or sound reproduction device,
as defined herein, or any other sound-producing device regulated by
this chapter.
[Added at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions,
Art. I)]
EMERGENCY
Any occurrence or set of circumstances involving actual or
imminent physical trauma or property damage which demands immediate
action.
EMERGENCY SIGNAL DEVICE
Any gong, siren, whistle, air horn or similar device, the
use of which on emergency vehicles is permitted by Subdivision 26
of § 375 of the Vehicle and Traffic Law.
[Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General
Provisions, Art. I)]
EXCESSIVE NOISE
Any sound which endangers or injures the safety or health
of humans or animals or annoys or disturbs a reasonable person of
normal sensitivity or endangers or injures personal or real property.
EXHAUST SOURCE
A system which removes and transports air or gas from a device.
INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINE
A device for the production of mechanical energy by means
of the combustion under pressure of fossil fuel.
LAND USE DESIGNATION FOR NOISE CONTROL
The land use designation which shall consist of noise-sensitive
area, Residential District, Business and Commercial District and Light
Industrial District. All land within the municipality shall be classified
so that one of the preceding districts shall apply at any given property.
[Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General
Provisions, Art. I)]
MOTOR VEHICLE
Every device in, upon or by which any person or property
is or may be transported or drawn, which is propelled by any power
other than muscular power, except vehicles which run only upon rails
or tracks. This definition shall include but not be limited to trucks,
buses, automobiles, vans, motorcycles, motor-driven cycles, motor
scooters, dune buggies, snowmobiles, all-terrain vehicles, go-carts,
minibikes, trail bikes and all other types of motorized recreational
vehicles.
MUFFLER
A device consisting of a series of chambers of baffle plates
or other mechanical design for the purpose of receiving exhaust gas
from a sound source and which is effective in reducing sound levels.
NOISE
Any erratic, intermittent, statistically random oscillation
or unwanted sound.
OCTAVE BAND
All of the components in a sound spectrum whose frequencies
are between two sine-wave components separated by an octave, with
center frequencies as specified in Table II.
OWNER
Includes the owner of the freehold of the premises or lesser
estate therein or mortgagee thereof, a lessee or agent of any of the
above persons, a lessee of a device or his agent, a tenant, operator
or any other person who has regular control of a device or an apparatus.
PERSON
Any individual, partnership, company, corporation, association,
firm, organization, governmental agency, administration or department
or any other group of individuals, or any officer or employee thereof.
SOUND
An oscillation in pressure, particle displacement, particle
velocity or other physical parameter in a medium with internal forces
that causes compression and rarefaction of that medium. The description
of sound may include any characteristic of such sound, including duration,
intensity and frequency.
SOUND-LEVEL METER
An instrument, including a microphone, amplifier, output
display and frequency weighting networks, for the measurement of sound
levels. Sound-level meters shall conform to the requirements of American
National Standards Institute specifications for sound-level meters.
SOUND-PRESSURE LEVEL
Twenty times the logarithm to the base 10 of the ratio of
the pressure of the sound to the reference sound pressure. Unless
otherwise specified, the effective (rms) pressure is to be utilized.
The reference sound pressure is 20 x uN/m2 (micronewtons per square
meter) or 0.0002 micropascal. Sound-pressure level is expressed in
decibels (dB).
SOUND-REPRODUCTION DEVICE
A device intended primarily for the production or reproduction
of sound, including but not limited to any radio receiver, television
receiver, tape recorder, musical instrument, phonograph or sound-amplifying
system.
SOUND SIGNAL
Any sound produced by a sound-signal device designed to transmit
information.
SOUND-SIGNAL DEVICE
A device designed to produce a sound signal when operated,
including but not limited to any claxon, air horn, whistle, bell,
gong or siren, but not an emergency signal device or verbal information.
SOUND SOURCE
Any activity or device whatsoever that produces sound.
UNNECESSARY NOISE
Any excessive or unusually loud sound or any sound which,
in the opinion of the administrator, either annoys, disturbs, injures
or endangers the comfort, repose, health, peace or safety of a person
or damages property or business. Standards to be considered in determining
whether unnecessary noise exists in a given situation shall include,
but are not limited to, the following:
B.
The intensity of the noise.
C.
Whether the nature of the noise is usual or
unusual.
D.
Whether the origin of the noise is natural or
unnatural.
E.
The volume and intensity of the background noise,
if any.
F.
The proximity of the noise to residential sleeping
facilities.
G.
The nature and land use designation for noise
control of the area within which the noise emanates.
H.
The density of inhabitation of the area within
which the noise emanates.
I.
The time of the day or night the noise occurs.
J.
The duration of the noise.
K.
Whether the noise is recurrent, intermittent
or constant.
L.
Whether the noise is produced by a commercial
or noncommercial activity.
Upon presentation of proper credentials, the
administrator may enter and/or inspect any private property, place,
report or records at any reasonable time when granted permission by
the owner or by some other person with apparent authority to act for
the owner. When permission is refused or cannot be obtained, a search
warrant may be obtained from a court of competent jurisdiction upon
showing of probable cause to believe that a violation of this chapter
may exist. Such inspection may include administration of any necessary
tests.
The provisions of this chapter shall not apply
to the operation or use of any organ, bell, chimes other similar instrument
by any church, synagogue, mosque or school when used as part of the
religious order of service or when operated between the hours of 9:00
a.m. and 9:00 p.m.; and natural sound, including but not limited to
wind blown across natural objects, insects, wild animals or wild birds.
No person shall make, continue or cause or permit
to be made or continued any excessive noise.
Any act in violation of the provisions of §
123-11 of this chapter is deemed to be in violation of §
123-9 of this chapter without in any way limiting the generality of the provisions of §
123-9 of this chapter.
The provisions of this chapter shall not apply
to:
A. The emission of sound for the purpose of alerting
persons to the existence of an emergency.
B. The emission of sound in the performance of emergency
work.
Except where a person is acting in good faith to comply with an abatement order issued pursuant to §
123-16, emission from any source of noise in excess of the limitations established in or pursuant to this chapter shall be deemed and is hereby declared to be a public nuisance and shall be cause for a notice of violation to be issued by the administrator.
In lieu of issuing a notice of violation as provided for in §
123-15, the administrator may issue an order requiring abatement of any sound source alleged to be in violation of this chapter within a reasonable time period and according to guidelines which the administrator may prescribe. The items to be considered in the issuance of the order and the compliance dates prescribed therein shall include but not be limited to the following:
A. Volume and intensity of the noise.
B. Volume and intensity of the background noise, if any.
C. The duration of the noise.
D. The time of day or night the noise occurs.
E. Availability of control equipment.
F. Engineering guides which are acceptable to the administrator.
G. Towing in accordance with the following:
(1) Legislative intent. The Town/Village Board of Trustees
hereby finds and determines that violations of laws and codes affecting
quality-of-life issues, including noise violations, prostitution offenses,
controlled substances offenses, violation of illegal weapons provisions
and illegal dumping, are degrading to the persons involved, often
lead to the commission of other offenses, disrupt the peace and quiet
of the neighborhood where such offenses occur and are detrimental
to the health, safety and welfare of residents and visitors in the
Town/Village. Enforcement of such offenses also imposes an enormous
burden on the Town/Village in terms of providing sufficient law enforcement
personnel to combat these offenses and to maintain the peace and security
of Town/Village streets and neighborhoods. The Town/Village Board
of Trustees further finds that such offenses are frequently committed
by persons who do not live in the neighborhood where the acts occur
and who travel to and from said neighborhoods in a motor vehicle,
that the acts constituting such offenses are often committed in or
from a motor vehicle or that a motor vehicle is used to transport
contraband or materials involved in the offense to the location where
the acts occur. The Town/Village Board of Trustees finds that local
legislation is needed to abate nuisances involving the use of motor
vehicles by providing for the towing of motor vehicles used in connection
with quality-of-life offenses.
(2) Towing.
(a)
Any motor vehicle which has been or is being
used in connection with the commission of a violation of this chapter
shall be subject to towing and impoundment under this section. A motor
vehicle shall be deemed to be used in connection with any of the offenses
in this subsection if the act or acts constituting the offense take
place in or from the motor vehicle, if the motor vehicle is used to
transport the material which is illegally dumped or if the motor vehicle
is otherwise used to facilitate the act or acts constituting the offense.
(b)
Whenever a police officer has probable cause
to believe that a motor vehicle is subject to towing pursuant to this
section, the police officer shall provide for the towing of the motor
vehicle to a vehicle pound designated by the Chief of Police. Such
towing shall be deemed an abatement of a nuisance and at the risk
and expense of the vehicle owner or person entitled to the vehicle
or person operating the vehicle. Such costs shall not be deemed to
be a penalty. When the motor vehicle is towed, the police officer
shall notify the person who is found to be in control of the motor
vehicle at the time of the alleged violation, if there is such a person,
of the fact of the towing and of the vehicle owner's right to request
a hearing to be conducted in accordance with the procedures set forth
herein. Other than a lack of probable cause, the only defenses available
to a vehicle owner in such a hearing shall be that the motor vehicle
used in the violation was stolen at the time of the violation and
the theft was reported to the appropriate police authorities within
24 hours after the theft was discovered or reasonably should have
been discovered, or that the motor vehicle was operating as a common
carrier and the violation occurred without the actual knowledge of
the person in control of the motor vehicle. It shall not otherwise
be a defense that the violation occurred while the vehicle owner was
not present, or that the vehicle owner did not consent to the acts
constituting the violation.
(c)
It is the policy of the Town/Village of East
Rochester that when persons are arrested for violations of this chapter
and the act or acts constituting the offense take place in or from
a motor vehicle, or when the persons arrested are in or about or arrived
by a motor vehicle or if the motor vehicle is otherwise used to facilitate
the act or acts constituting the offense, such motor vehicle shall
be towed, pursuant to the arrest, to a vehicle pound designated by
the Chief of Police.
(3) Any such removal shall be deemed an abatement of a
nuisance and at the risk and expense of the owner or person entitled
to the vehicle or the person who operated or parked the vehicle. The
Chief of Police may store such vehicles in designated vehicle pounds
or other suitable places at the risk and expense of the owner or the
person entitled to possession thereof or the person who operated or
parked the vehicle.
(4) The Town/Village may maintain an action against the
owner or owners, the person who operated or parked the vehicle, or
any of them, to recover the amount of the lien in a civil action.
Any person who shall violate any of the provisions
of this chapter shall, upon conviction, be punishable by a fine of
not more than $250 or by imprisonment for a term of not more that
15 days, or by both such fine and imprisonment, for each violation.
The provisions of any section of this chapter
shall not be deemed to modify or otherwise affect or be in substitution
for any provision of any other section of this chapter or other chapter
of this Code, but shall be cumulative thereto.
If the provisions of this chapter are inconsistent
with any other provision in this Code, or with any rule or regulation
of any department, bureau or governmental agency of the Town/Village
of East Rochester, the provisions of this chapter shall be controlling.