[HISTORY: Adopted by the Board of Commissioners
of the Township of Swatara 5-14-1980 by Ord. No. 1980-8 (Ch. 6, Part 6, of
the 1990 Code). Amendments noted where applicable.]
It is hereby declared to be a nuisance and it
shall be unlawful for any person, firm, or corporation to make or
cause or suffer or permit to be made or caused, upon any premises
owned, occupied or controlled by him or it or upon any public street,
alley or thoroughfare in the Township of Swatara, any unnecessary
noises or sounds by means of the human voice or by any other means
or methods which are physically annoying to the comfort of any person
or which are so harsh or so prolonged or unnatural or unusual in their
use, time and place as to occasion physical discomfort, or which are
injurious to the lives, health, peace, and comfort of the inhabitants
of said Township or any member thereof.
No person, persons, firm, or corporation shall
play, use, or operate or knowingly permit to be played, used, or operated
any radio receiving set, musical instrument, phonograph, sound amplifier,
loudspeaker, or other machine, or device for the reproduction of sound
upon property (real or personal) or premises owned, occupied, or used
by him, them, or it, which is not measured and regulated by decibels,
so that the sound coming from such machine can be audibly heard at
a distance greater than 100 feet from the property or premises wherein
such machine or device is located. Nothing herein contained shall
be construed to prohibit the playing of a band or orchestra in any
concert hall, auditorium, or public park, nor the utilization of such
sound-producing devices by charitable or nonprofit groups for the
general purpose of public announcements or public events.
A.
No person shall operate a sound truck or loudspeaker
on the streets or public places of the Township of Swatara without
first obtaining a permit therefor from the Code Enforcement Officer.
Such permit shall not be transferable from person to person or from
sound truck to sound truck and may not be extended as to the date
it shall be used, nor shall any permit for the operation of such sound
truck be issued for use earlier than 8:00 a.m. or later than 9:00
p.m. of the prevailing local time. Every application for a permit
shall be accompanied by a permit fee as determined by the Board of
Commissioners of Swatara Township pursuant to resolution and no such
permit shall be issued until the prescribed fee shall have been paid.
B.
The application for such permit shall be filled in
duplicate with the Code Enforcement Officer, and the permit issued
shall be limited in accordance with the information contained in such
application, which shall set forth the following:
(1)
Name and home address of the applicant.
(2)
Business address of applicant.
(3)
Name and address of owner of sound truck.
(4)
Make and license number of sound truck.
(5)
Name and address of person operating sound truck.
(6)
Name and address of person operating sound equipment.
(7)
The purpose for which sound truck will be used.
(8)
The proposed hours of operation of sound truck.
(9)
A certificate from an engineer that such amplifying
machine is so equipped and regulated by decibels that the sound coming
from such machine cannot be audibly heard at a distance greater than
100 feet from the sound truck or amplifying machine.
C.
After the issuance of the said permit, the Code Enforcement
Officer shall return one certified copy of the application to the
permittee, together with the permit, which must be in the possession
of the operator of the sound truck during such time as the sound-amplifying
equipment is in operation. Such certified application and permit shall,
upon request, be promptly exhibited to any police officer of the Township
of Swatara.
D.
No permit, so issued, may be used which attracts the
attention of motorists or pedestrians, causing the blocking of streets
and thereby creating a traffic congestion and hazard.
It shall be unlawful for any person, firm, or
corporation to sound any horn or warning device on any automobile,
motorcycle, bus, or other vehicle except when required by law or to
give timely warning of impending danger to persons driving other vehicles
or to persons upon the street. No person shall sound any horn or warning
device on any automobile, motorcycle, bus, or other vehicle which
shall emit an unreasonably loud or harsh sound or for any unnecessary
or unreasonable period of time.
[Amended 4-11-1990 by Ord. No. 1990-1]
A.
Any person, persons, firm or corporation who shall
violate any of the provisions of this chapter shall, upon conviction
thereof, be punishable by a fine of not less than $50 nor more than
$600, and/or to imprisonment for a term not to exceed 30 days, which
fines and penalties may be collected by suit brought in the name of
the Township before any Magisterial District Judge in the like manner
as debts of like amount may be sued for by existing laws. Every day
that a violation of this chapter continues shall constitute a separate
offense.
B.
Each violation of any of the provisions of this chapter
shall be deemed to be a separate and distinct offense.
