[HISTORY: Adopted by the City Council of the City of Somers Point:
Art I, 7-3-1939 (Ch. 58, Art II, of 1967 compilation),
amended 6-19-1953 by Ord. No. 6-1953;
Art. II, 10-22-1981 as Ord. No. 16-1981
(Ch. 58, Art. I, of 1967 compilation). Sections 188-2 and 188-7 amended at
time of adoption of Code; see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. I. Other amendments
noted where applicable.]
[Adopted 7-3-1939 (Ch. 58, Art. II, of 1967 compilation),
amended 6-19-1953 by Ord. No. 6-1953]
No dancing, entertainment or orchestras shall be permitted in the City
of Somers Point on Sunday between 2:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m., Eastern standard
time, when that time is effective in said city, or daylight saving time, whenever
that time is effective in said city. However, this Article shall not apply
to piano or organ music or music received by television, radio or recording
machines.
Upon a complaint being made by any person in connection with any violation as set forth in § 188-1 hereof, the same shall be tried by the Municipal Judge; and, upon conviction thereof, such person shall be subject to a fine not exceeding $1,000 or imprisonment for a term not exceeding 90 days or community service for a period not exceeding 90 days, or any combination of the foregoing.
[Adopted 10-22-1981 as Ord. No. 16-1981
(Ch. 58, Art. I, of 1967 compilation)]
It is hereby found and declared that it is the public policy of the
City of Somers Point to significantly reduce the ambient noise level in the
City of Somers Point, so as to foster and protect the public health, comfort,
safety and welfare of its citizens. As a matter of legislative determination
and public policy, the provisions, regulations and prohibitions of this Article
are in pursuance of and for the purpose of securing and promoting the comfort,
peace and quiet to which the residents of the City of Somers Point are entitled.
No person shall make, continue or cause or permit to be made or continued
any unnecessary noise.
A.
Unless exempted under the provisions of this Article,
no person shall cause to be made, directly or indirectly, any loud noise which
disturbs, injures or endangers the health, comfort, safety or welfare of others
within the City of Somers Point.
B.
The following specific acts are declared to be loud,
disturbing and unnecessary noises in violation of this Article, but said enumeration
shall not be deemed to be exclusive:
(1)
Horns, signaling devices, etc. The sounding of any horn
or signaling device on any automobile, motorcycle, bus, truck or other vehicle
on any street, road or public or private place, except as a warning pursuant
to the provisions of N.J.S.A. 39:3-69, or any whistle or other device operated
by engine exhaust, and the use of any such signaling device when traffic is
held up for any reason.
(2)
Radio and television sets, phonographs, etc. The use
of radio or television receiving sets, musical instruments, phonographs or
any other machine or device for the producing or reproducing of sound in such
manner as to disturb the peace, quiet and comfort of the neighboring inhabitants
or, at any time, with volume louder than is necessary for the convenient hearing
of the person or persons who are in the room or vehicle in which such machine
or device is operated and who are voluntary listeners thereto. The operation
of any such device between the hours of 11:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m. in such a
manner as to be plainly audible at a distance of 50 feet from the building,
structure or vehicle in which it is located or, in the case of such instruments
operated in the open, at a distance of 50 feet from the instrument shall create
a rebuttable presumption of a violation of this section.
(3)
Loudspeakers; amplifiers for advertising. The use of
any radio receiving set, musical instrument, phonograph, loudspeakers, sound
amplifier or other machine or device for the producing or reproducing of sound
which is cast upon the public streets for the purpose of commercial advertising.
(4)
Hawkers; peddlers. The shouting and crying of peddlers,
hawkers and vendors which disturb the peace and quiet of the neighborhood.
(5)
Schools; courts; churches. The creation of any excessive
noise adjacent to any school, institution of learning, house of worship or
judicial court while the same is in use, provided that the conspicuous signs
are displayed on the adjacent streets indicating that the same is a school,
church or court street.
(6)
Drums, bells and the like. The use of any drum, bell,
horn, loudspeaker or other instrument or device for the purpose of attracting
attention to any performance, show or sale or the display of merchandise by
any creation of noise or sound.
(7)
Mobile loudspeakers. The use of mechanical loudspeakers
or amplifiers on vehicles or aircraft for commercial advertising purposes.
(8)
Yelling, shouting and the like on public streets. Yelling,
shouting, hooting, whistling or singing on the public streets at any time
or place so as to annoy or disturb the quiet comfort or repose of persons
in any office, dwelling, hotel, motel or other type of residence or of any
persons in the vicinity.
(9)
Yelling, shouting and the like in private residences.
Yelling, shouting, hooting, whistling or singing in private residences or
places in such manner as to disturb the peace, quiet and comfort of the neighboring
inhabitants. Any voluntary participant in such conduct which creates, in whole
or in part, the proscribed conduct shall be a violator of this section to
the same degree as the actual perpetrator. Yelling, shouting, hooting, whistling
or singing between the hours of 11:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m. in such a manner
as to be plainly audible at a distance of 50 feet from the private residence
or place shall create a rebuttable presumption of a violation of this section.
(10)
A commercial establishment from which loud noise emanates
as a result of musical instruments, bands, mechanical musical devices and/or
any sound reproduction device, live entertainment or patrons, from either
the inside or any outside portion of such establishment, shall be in violation
of this section whenever such noise is plainly audible at a distance of 100
feet form the place where it emanates between the hours of 11:00 p.m. and
12:00 noon of the following day.
[Amended 7-27-2000 by Ord. No. 7-2000]
(11)
Loading and unloading. The loading, unloading, opening,
closing or other handling of boxes, crates, containers, building materials,
liquids, garbage cans or similar objects or the pneumatic or pumped loading
or unloading of bulk material or the pickup or compacting of refuse by persons
engaged in the business of garbage collection whether private or municipal
between the hours of 9:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m., commencing Sunday evening through
Saturday morning and between the hours of 9:00 p.m. Saturday evening and 9:00
a.m. Sunday morning when the sound therefrom creates a noise disturbance across
a residential real property line.
[Added 12-13-1990 by Ord. No. 24-1990]
(12)
Construction and demolition. It is prohibited to operate
or permit to be operated, except for emergency repairs, any tools or equipment
used in construction, drilling, excavating or demolition work between 9:00
p.m. in the evening and 7:00 a.m. (9:00 a.m. on Sundays) of the morning of
the next day, when the sound therefrom creates a noise disturbance across
a residential real property line. For commercial projects with a construction
permit value exceeding $200,000, the same prohibition applies, but the hours
of prohibition, except for emergency repairs, are between 6:00 p.m. in the
evening and 8:00 a.m. of the morning of the next day, and no work, except
for emergency repairs, is permitted on Sundays.
[Added 12-13-1990 by Ord. No. 24-1990;
amended 12-27-2001 by Ord. No. 16-2001]
(13)
Power lawn equipment. Operating any power lawn equipment
by any person or corporation or any power equipment used for the maintenance
of trees, bushes, hedges, edging or any other types of landscaping between
the hours of 9:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m., commencing Sunday evening through Saturday
morning and between the hours of 9:00 p.m. Saturday evening and 9:00 a.m.
Sunday morning when the sound therefrom creates a noise disturbance across
a residential real property line.
[Added 12-13-1990 by Ord. No. 24-1990[1]]
[1]
Editor's Note: This ordinance also repealed former Subsection
C, setting decibel limits on noises, added 12-18-1981 by Ord. No. 18-1981.
(14)
Commercial establishments, including but not limited
to restaurants, from which loud noise emanates as a result of the operation
of heating, venting and air-conditioning motors and mechanical units and fans,
or as a result of the operation of kitchen exhaust fans, or as a result of
the operation of other mechanical devices.
[Added 2-27-2003 by Ord. No. 1-2003]
The prohibitions contained in this article shall not apply to persons:
A.
Who are engaged in the performance of any public or governmental
function, such as the sounding of a church or school bell or a police, fire,
ambulance, air raid or like disaster warning, alert or alarm, whether such
alarm shall be for an actual emergency purpose or for practice or drilling
purposes.
B.
Who are engaged in a religious, charitable, recreational,
civic or political activity by means of a sound truck or other amplifying
device for nonprofit purposes, provided that such persons shall have first
obtained a permit from the City of Somers Point, upon written application,
setting forth the sponsorship, date, hours and routes of such activity. The
City Council shall issue such permit unless, having considered the date, time
and route, it shall determine that the noise created by such activity shall
cause undue discomfort to the public.
C.
Who are engaged in any activity specifically permitted
or required by any ordinance, resolution, statute or governmental regulation.
D.
Employed by public utility companies engaged in emergency
repair service; provided, however, that such noise does not exceed levels
reasonably necessary to accomplish such work.
E.
Who are engaged in the operation of power lawn equipment
and other vegetation trimming equipment pertaining to golf course maintenance,
except to the extent of a publicly advertised schedule which may be adopted
or modified from time to time by way of a resolution passed by City Council
after a compromise between the golf course and the adjacent residents and
neighbors.
[Added 12-15-1994 by Ord. No. 14-1994]
F.
Who are engaged in any activity, including but not limited
to road work and construction, or other similar projects, or other events
or activities that may occur from time to time for which Council in its discretion
finds and declares by resolution that just and reasonable cause exists to
waive all or any portion of this chapter.
[Added 10-10-2002 by Ord. No. 19-2002]
[Amended 3-14-1991 by Ord. No. 1991]
Any person who shall violate any of the provisions of this article shall,
upon conviction, be punished by a fine not to exceed $1,000 or by imprisonment
in the county jail for a period not to exceed 90 days or by a period of community
service not to exceed 90 days, or any combination of the foregoing. The Municipal
Court of the City of Somers Point shall have jurisdiction over this chapter.
