[Amended 2-12-2008 by Ord. No. 2414]
Maximum noise level limits, NLL, are established in Table 264-10, and are a function of their zoning district location and time of the day. Noise level limits specified in Table 264-10 will not be exceeded at a receiving property by noise being generated at a source location. Noise level limits are fifteen-minute A-weighted LEQ's unless otherwise specified in this chapter by another metric based on these limit values.
Table 264-10
Noise Level Limits, NLL
Time of Day
Zoning District
Dawn
4:30 a.m. to 7:00 a.m.
Day
7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.
Evening
7:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m.
Night
10:00 p.m. to 12:00 a.m.
S-1 Conservancy (landfills only)*
58
68
58
58
NOTES:
*
Landfills operate from 4:30 a.m. to 12:00 a.m., as amended by the DEP Rules and Regulations.
Time of Day
Zoning District
Day
7:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.
Evening
6:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m.
Night
10:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.
S-1 Conservancy (all other uses)
55
50
45
R-1 One-Family Residential
55
50
45
R-2 One-Family Residential
55
50
45
R-2T One-Family Residential
55
50
45
R-3 One-Family Residential
55
50
45
R-4 Multifamily Residential
60
55
50
R-5 Multifamily Residential
60
55
50
L Special Use
60
55
50
C-1 Shopping Commercial
60
60
60
C-2 Business Commercial
60
60
60
C-3 Commercial
60
60
60
M-1 Planned Industrial
65
65
65
M-2 Industrial
65
65
65
Maximum noise levels limits of Table 264-10 are subject to the following exclusions, including:
A. 
Any domestic power equipment operated upon any conservancy, residential, commercial, industrial or special use zoned property, between the hours of 9:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m., may exceed the fifteen-minute A-weighted LEQ noise level limits of Table 264-10, by no more than 10 dBA, provided the equipment is in good working order and meets or exceeds the original manufacturer's noise level specifications. This equipment may exceed the NLL by more than 20 dBA provided the total time above the NLL does not exceed one hour per day or three hours per week. If a noise specification does not exist, the equipment must have the same noise level or less noise with similar or improved noise characteristics as the original equipment as manufactured and used as intended.
B. 
Any existing HVAC equipment operated upon any conservancy, residential, commercial, industrial or special use zoned property may exceed the NLL of Table 264-10 if the equipment is in good operating condition and does not exceed the original manufacturer noise level specifications as when manufactured and placed in operation on the property. If a noise specification does not exist, it must have the same noise level and characteristics as the original equipment as manufactured and intended to be used. New and/or replacement HVAC equipment must comply with the noise level limits as set forth in Table 264-10.
C. 
Any transportation and/or warning device noise regulated by state and federal laws may exceed the limits of Table 264-10 if these statues specify limiting noise levels provided that this equipment is being operated in a lawful manner.
D. 
The noise of the warning devices on emergency vehicles may exceed the limits of Table 264-10, Noise Level Limits.
E. 
Noise of construction and the operation of heavy equipment used for construction may exceed the limits of Table 264-10, Noise Level Limits, during the daytime work hours of 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. but reasonable efforts must be made to minimize noise generation of all operations. All equipment must be in good working order with noise levels as when new. All equipment will be muffled to the extent that is technically feasible. Long-term projects exceeding two months will be required to use best available equipment that has state-of-the-art noise suppression.
F. 
Emergency generators may exceed the NLL of Table 264-10 during emergency use but the noise levels of routine testing must occur during the daytime work hours of 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. and the LEQ noise levels must not exceed the NLL value of Table 264-10 by more than 20 dBA for more than one hour per week.
G. 
Music, voices, paging systems, sound reinforcement systems, audio amplification systems, televisions, radios, tape players, VCR equipment and all similar equipment are subject to Table 264-10 except compliance sound level measurements will be made with the "fast response" of an ANSI Type 1 meter using the "LMAX" to properly capture the short term bursts of noise energy. The LMAX sound level must not exceed the NLL value of Table 264-10.
H. 
Impact/Impulse noise shall not exceed the NLL established in Table 264-10 by more than 20 dB as measured with the "LPEAK" of an ANSI Type 1 meter with peak measurement capabilities as defined in ANSI standards.
I. 
The noise of organized events requiring Municipality of Monroeville permits will be excluded from the NLL for the duration of the permit. The Zoning Officer will review the noise producing activities of the event to control those that might produce unnecessary or unreasonable noise based on the intent of this chapter.
J. 
The normally occurring sounds and noises, i.e., voices, cheering crowds, referee whistles, and bands, of nonprofit and community-based sanctioned sporting, school, and college events are excluded. Sound amplification and similar equipment are subject to the NLL of Table 264-10.
K. 
Farm equipment used on commercial for-profit farming and nurseries are excluded from this chapter provided the equipment is in good working order and it meets the original noise levels of the equipment when originally manufactured for that make and model.
L. 
Privately owned animals and birds, excluding for-profit farm livestock, are subject to the NLL using the LMAX.
M. 
Refuse trucks operating on public streets for the purpose of household collection may exceed the NLL by no more that 20 dBA during the day time hours with occurrences limited to one fifteen-minute interval per week. Commercial refuse collection, handling, and disposal will meet the NLL at all times for evening and night hours. Noise during the day may exceed the NLL by no more than 20 dBA.
N. 
Snow removal equipment is excluded from this chapter during periods of substantial snowfall and immediately there after until such time both private and public roads, sidewalks, and parking lots are cleared so as to prevent a hazard to citizens. Routine snow removal will be limited to daytime hours. All equipment must be properly muffled and efforts are to be made to avoid unneeded noise. All state, county, and township snow-removal equipment is exempt from this chapter.
Noise measurements shall be made with a sound level meter, and shall mean an apparatus or instrument that includes an omnidirectional microphone, amplifier, attenuator, output meter and frequency weighting networks for the measurements of sound levels. The sound level meter shall be of a design and have the characteristics of a Type 1 or better instrument as established by the American Nationals Standards Institute. The sound level meter must meet or exceed the performance characteristics of the meter when new that conforms to ANSI standards for sound level meters. Laboratory calibrations by the manufacturer or a suitable alternative will serve as a check on these performance characteristics.
Compliance measurements shall utilize current measurement techniques and practices as specified by current ANSI standards and good practice. The signal-to-noise ratio shall be 20 dB or more with a dynamic range, that permits valid measurements. A properly calibrated sound meter will be used in all compliance measurements. A field check calibration of the sound meter shall be performed before and after the measurements if feasible. Calibration tolerance will be 0.5 dB or less for a meter and calibrator designed to be compatible and certified for use by the manufacturer or an equivalent alternative. Measurement tolerances will be within one dBA.
A. 
If the normally occurring ambient noise along with the background noise of the community exceeds the NLL values of Table 264-10,[1] then the "fast response" A-weighted sound level of the offending noise source must not exceed the fifteen-minute L90 of the background noise based using the NLL value of Table 264-10.
[1]
Editor's Note: Table 264-10 is located under § 264-10.
B. 
Windscreens will be used with an acoustic attenuation characteristic of one dBA or less as measured with a band limited white noise spectrum in the 100 to 20K Hertz range. Wind noise (false sound) must be five dBA less than the noise limit of Table 264-10. No corrections will be made for wind noise.
C. 
For screening purposes, an ANSI Type II meter can be used. Screening measurements can be made with the "slow response" of the meter.
D. 
Noise sources with deep bass sounds (substantial low frequency energy) will be evaluated with an octave band analysis. Individual octave band sound-pressure levels, OBSPL, will not exceed the following octave band sound-pressure levels for NLL 45 and NLL 55. (The first line contains the octave band center frequencies, OBCF, in Hertz. The following two lines contain the respective octave band sound-pressure levels for NLL 45 and 55 respectively.)
OBCF
31.5
63
125
250
500
1,000
2,000
4,000
8,000
Hz
NLL 45
70
65
60
55
50
45
40
35
30
dB
NLL 55
80
75
70
65
60
55
50
45
40
dB
E. 
At no time shall the offending noise source at the source location cause the interior noise level of a structure on the receiving property to exceed the NLL of Table 264-10 as measured with the "fast response" of an ANSI Type One sound level meter using the LMAX. Windows and doors may be open when compliance measurements are made. Compliance will be based on measurements made at any interior point that is more than one meter away from the planes that contain the walls, floor, and/or ceiling. Only rooms with walls, floor, ceiling, door(s), and window(s) with component construction that has a composite STC of 25 or more are covered.
F. 
Noise sources that produce a pure tone(s) or a line spectrum with dominate tones will be penalized by 10 dBA to account for the tonal character of the noise. A factor of 10 dBA will added to the measured fifteen-minute LEQ. This numerical value will be used to determine compliance with the NLL of Table 264-10.
A. 
The use of motor vehicle horns is not permitted except for valid "warning" situations specifically covered in the Motor Vehicle Code of the State.