The Portsmouth Town Council hereby finds and
declares that:
A. Excessive noise is a serious hazard to the public
health and welfare and the quality of life.
B. A substantial body of science and technology exists
by which excessive noise can be substantially abated without serious
inconvenience to the public.
C. Certain of the noise-producing equipment in this community
is essential to the quality of life herein and should be allowed to
continue at reasonable levels with moderate regulation.
D. Each person has a right to an environment reasonably
free from noise which jeopardizes health or welfare or unnecessarily
degrades the quality of life.
E. It is declared policy of the Town to promote an environment
free from excessive noise, otherwise properly called "noise pollution,"
which unnecessarily jeopardizes the health and welfare and degrades
the quality of the lives of the residents of this community, without
unduly prohibiting, limiting or otherwise regulating the function
of certain noise-producing equipment which is not amenable to such
controls and yet is essential to the quality of life in the community.
Unless otherwise expressly stated or the context
clearly indicates a different intention, the following words and terms
shall have the meanings given. Definitions of technical terms used
in this chapter, which are not herein defined, shall be obtained from
publications of acoustical terminology issued by ANSI or its successor
body.
AMBIENT SOUND LEVEL
The noise associated with a given environment, exclusive
of a particular noise being tested, being usually a composite of sounds
from many sources near and far, exclusive of intruding noises from
isolated identifiable sources.
ANSI
The American National Standards Institute or its successor
body.
A-SCALE (dBA)
The sound level in decibels measured using the A-weighted
network as specified in ANSI Standard 1.4-1971 for sound-level meters.
The level is designated dB(A) or dBA.
CONSTRUCTION
Any and all activity necessary or incidental to the erection,
assembly, alteration, installation, repair or equipment of buildings,
roadways or utilities, including land clearing, grading, excavating
and filling.
DECIBEL (DB)
A logarithmic and dimensionless unit of measure often used
in describing the amplitude of sound, equal to 20 times the logarithm
to the base 10 of the ratio of the pressure of the sound measured
to the reference pressure, which is 20 micropascals (20 micronewtons
per square meter).
DEMOLITION
Any dismantling, intentional destruction or removal of structures,
utilities, public or private right-of-way surfaces or similar property.
DWELLING UNIT
A building or portion thereof regularly used for residential
occupancy.
EMERGENCY WORK
Work made necessary to restore property to a safe condition
following a public calamity, work to restore public utilities or work
required to protect persons or property from imminent exposure to
danger.
IMPULSIVE SOUND
Sound of short duration, usually less than one second, with
an abrupt onset and rapid decay. Examples of sources of impulsive
sound include explosions, drop-forge impacts and the discharge of
firearms.
LOT
Any area, tract or parcel of land owned by or under the lawful
control of one distinct ownership. Abutting platted lots under the
same ownership shall be considered a lot. The lot line or boundary
is an imaginary line at ground level which separates a lot and its
vertical extension owned by one person from that owned by another.
MOTORCYCLE
Any motor vehicle having a saddle or seat for the use of
the rider and designed to travel on not more than three wheels in
contact with the ground. The term shall include motorized bicycles,
motor scooters, mopeds and the like.
MOTOR VEHICLE
Any motor-operated vehicle licensed for use on the public
highways, but not including a motorcycle.
NARROW BAND SOUND
Sound characterized by normal listeners as having a predominant
pitch or series of pitches; sound described by such listeners as "whine,"
"hiss," "toot" or "wail"; or a sound whose frequencies occupy an octave
band or less.
NOISE DISTURBANCE
Any sound which exceeds the dBA level for such sound set
out in this chapter; the making, creation or permitting of any unreasonably
loud, disturbing or unnecessary noise; or the making, creating or
permitting of any noise of such character, intensity or duration as
to be detrimental to the life, health or welfare of any individual,
or which either steadily or intermittently annoys, disturbs, injures
or endangers the comfort, repose, peace or safety of any individual.
OFF-ROAD RECREATIONAL VEHICLE
Any motor vehicle, including road vehicles, but excepting
watercraft, used off public roads for recreational purposes.
PERSON
Any individual, association, partnership or corporation,
including any officer, department, bureau, agency or instrumentality
of the United States, a state or any political subdivision of a state,
including the Town.
PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS OF SOUND
The steady, impulsive or narrow band property of a sound,
the level of the sound and the extent to which it exceeds the background
sound level.
PLAINLY AUDIBLE
Any sound for which the information content is unambiguously
communicated to the listener, such as, but not limited to, understandable
spoken speech, comprehension of whether a voice is raised or normal
or comprehensible rhythms.
POWERED MODEL VEHICLE
Any self-propelled airborne, waterborne or landborne model
plane, vessel or vehicle which is not designed to carry persons, including,
but not limited to, any model airplane, boat, car or rocket.
PUBLIC RIGHT-OF-WAY
Any street, avenue, highway, boulevard, alley, easement or
public space which is owned by or controlled by a public governmental
entity.
PUBLIC SPACE
Any real property, including any structure thereon, which
is owned or controlled by a governmental entity.
PURE TONE
Any sound which can be distinctly heard as a single pitch
or set of single pitches.
REAL PROPERTY BOUNDARY
An imaginary line along the ground surface, and its vertical
extension, which separates the real property owned by one person from
that owned by another person, but not including intrabuilding real
property divisions.
RECEIVING LAND USE
The use or occupancy of the property which receives the transmission
of sound.
RESIDENTIAL PROPERTY
Any property on which is located a building or structure
used wholly or partially for living or sleeping purposes.
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
The weighted sound-pressure level obtained by the use of
a sound-level meter and frequency weighting network, such as A, B
or C, as specified in ANSI specifications for sound-level meters (ANSI
Standard 1.4-1971, or the latest approved revision thereof). If the
frequency weighting employed is not indicated, the A-weighting shall
apply.
SOUND-LEVEL METER
An instrument which includes a microphone, amplifier, RMS
detector, integrator or time averager, output or display meter, and
weighting networks, used to measure sound-pressure levels, which complies
with ANSI Standard 1.4-1971.
SOUND PRESSURE
The instantaneous difference between the actual pressure
and the average or barometric pressure at a given point in space,
as produced by sound energy.
SOUND-PRESSURE LEVEL
Twenty times the logarithm to the base 10 of the ratio of
the RMS sound pressure to the reference pressure of 20 micronewtons
per square meter (20 x 10-6N/M2). The sound-pressure level is denoted
"Lp" or "SPL" and is expressed in decibels.
STEADY SOUND
A sound whose level remains essentially constant (+/-2 dBa)
during the period of the sound-level meter.
TOWN
The Town of Portsmouth, Rhode Island, or the area within
the territorial limits of the Town, and such territory outside of
the Town over which the Town has jurisdiction or control by virtue
or ownership or any constitutional or Charter provision or any law.
USED AND OCCUPIED
Include the words "intended, designed or arranged to be"
(used or occupied).
WATERCRAFT
Any contrivance used, or capable of being used, as a means
of transportation or recreation on water.
ZONING DISTRICTS
Those districts established in the Zoning Ordinance and indicated
on the Official Zoning Map or in the Zoning Ordinance.
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;
C. Noncommercial pubic speaking and public assembly activities conducted on any private property, public space or public right-of-way, except those activities controlled by §
257-11;
D. The unamplified human voice, except those activities controlled by §
257-9;
E. Agricultural activities, exclusive of those involving
the ownership or possession of animals or birds;
F. The emission of sound in the performance of military
operations, exclusive of travel by individuals to or from military
duty;
G. The emission of sound in the discharge of weapons
between 6:00 a.m. and 9:00 p.m.;
H. The emission of sound in the discharge of fireworks
displays licensed by the Town between the hours of 9:30 p.m. and 10:00
p.m. only, except with special permission granted by the Town Council;
[Amended 7-9-2007 by Ord. No. 2007-07-09]
I. The emission of sound in the operation of snow removal
equipment;
J. The emission of sound relative to permitted construction
and demolition activities, provided that such activities do not occur
between 9:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m.; and
K. The emission of sound relative to the operation of
yard or lawn maintenance equipment or machinery, provided such activities
do not occur between the hours of 9:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m. the following
day.
No person shall make, continue or cause to be
made or continued, except as permitted, any noise or sound which constitutes
a noise disturbance, as defined in this chapter.
No person shall operate, play or permit the
operation or playing of any drum, musical instrument or similar device
which produces sound in such a manner as to create a noise disturbance
across a residential real property boundary.
Except for activities open to the public and
for which a permit and a noise variance have been issued by the Town,
no person shall operate, play or permit the operation or playing of
any radio, television, phonograph or other sound-amplifying equipment
so as to create a noise disturbance.
The owner, possessor or keeper of any animal
or bird shall be deemed to have violated this chapter if such animal
or bird frequently or for a continued duration emits sound that is
natural to the species, which sound exceeds the dBA level set forth
in Table I.
All departments and agencies of the Town shall
carry out their programs in furtherance of the policies set forth
in this chapter.