It is hereby declared that, at certain levels,
noise is detrimental to the public health, comfort, convenience, safety
and welfare of the citizens of the City. This chapter is enacted to
protect, preserve and promote the health, welfare, peace and quiet
of the citizens of Monroe through the reduction, prohibition and regulation
of noise. It is the intent of this chapter to establish and provide
for sound levels that will eliminate unnecessary and excessive noise,
reduce traffic and community noise, and establish noise standards
and sound levels that will promote a comfortable enjoyment of life,
property and the conduct of business, and prevent sound levels which
are physically harmful and detrimental to individuals and the community.
As used in this chapter, unless the context
requires a different meaning, the following terms shall have the meaning
indicated:
The total sound level stated in decibels as measured with
a sound level meter with a reference pressure of 20 micropascals using
the A-weighted network, the unit of measurement of which is the dB(A).
The surrounding, ambient, background or composite sounds
from all sources, excluding the sound source whose level is being
measured, which is measurable at any given location in an environment
by using an A-weighted decibel sound meter, when the noise level is
averaged over a period of 15 minutes at a specific time and location.
The sound pressure level in decibels measured on the A scale
of a standard sound level meter having characteristics defined by
the American National Standards Institute, Publication ANSI S 1.4-1971,
for a type 2 instrument.
A unit of measure, on a logarithmic scale to the base 10,
of the ratio of the magnitude of a particular sound pressure to a
standard reference pressure, which, for the purposes of this chapter,
shall be 20 micropascals per square meter.
Work made necessary to restore property to a safe condition
following a public calamity or work required to protect persons or
property from an imminent exposure to danger.
The A-weighted energy mean of a sound level averaged over
a specified time period which is equivalent to the continuous sound
level which would have the same total A-weighted energy as the real
fluctuating sound measured over the same period of time.
A stationary device which creates sounds while fixed or motionless,
including, but not limited to, residential, agricultural, industrial
and commercial machinery and equipment, pumps, fans, compressors,
air conditioners and refrigeration equipment.
Function periodic in time which is the reciprocal of the
primitive period. Frequency is the rate at which a complete sound
wave passes a given point in a specified unit of time.
Sounds which have a specific frequency or pitch associated
with them.
Noise or sound of short duration, of 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.
That sound which intrudes over and above the existing ambient
sound at a given location. The relative intrusiveness of a sound depends
upon its amplitude, duration, frequency and time of occurrence, and
tonal or informational content, as well as the prevailing ambient
sound level.
Any equipment customarily used or useful for ordinary and
usual domestic residential lawn and home maintenance purposes, such
as a lawnmower, rototiller, chainsaw or other similar implement or
device.
Shall be synonymous with the term "sound" and shall refer
to the physical manifestation resulting from an oscillation in pressure
in air.
A piece of land that is legally described by 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.
Any street, avenue, boulevard, highway, sidewalk, alley or
similar place which is owned or controlled by a governmental entity.
The district use (commercial, industrial or residential)
of the land on or at which a sound is received, as defined in the
Zoning Code of the City.[1]
Any device for the amplification of the human voice, music
or any other sound, excluding standard automobile radios when used
and heard only by the occupants of the vehicle in which the radio
is installed, and warning devices on any vehicle used for traffic
safety purposes.
An instrument, including a microphone, an amplifier, an output
meter and frequency weighting networks for the measurement of sound
levels, which meets applicable requirements of the American National
Standards Institute.
[Amended 9-4-2001 by Ord. No. 01-019]
Any violation of this chapter, unless otherwise designated as a civil infraction or a municipal civil infraction, is a misdemeanor, and any person convicted of a violation by a court of competent jurisdiction shall be subject to the penalty provided for in § 1-27 of the Code of the City of Monroe, except as hereinafter provided. A violation of any of the provisions of § 451-24 or 451-26 shall be a civil infraction, subject to such civil penalties as are provided by law. Further, no fine shall be imposed for any violation based upon defective vehicular equipment upon receipt of certification by a law enforcement agency that repair was made within 15 days of the date of issuance of a citation.
A.
In general: Violations of this chapter shall be prosecuted in the same manner as are other misdemeanor violations of these Codified Ordinances, provided that violations based solely on § 451-18 shall be enforced by the Department of Building, Zoning and Environmental Compliance, which shall give a written notice of its intention to prosecute the alleged violator not less than five days prior to the issuance of a misdemeanor complaint by posting a copy thereof on the premises and by mailing, by registered or certified mail, a copy to the alleged violator. No complaint shall be issued in the event the cause of the violation is removed and the condition is abated and fully corrected within such five-day period. In the event the alleged violator cannot be located in order to serve the notice of intention to prosecute, the notice as required herein shall be deemed to be given upon mailing such notice by registered or certified mail to the alleged violator at his or her last known address or at the place where the violation occurred, in which event the five-day period shall commence on the day following the mailing of such notice. All other provisions of this chapter shall be enforced by the City Police Department.
B.
Other enforcement: In addition to any personnel designated
herein for the enforcement of this chapter, the City Manager may employ
any other person who is technically qualified for noise measurement,
or trained in noise control techniques and procedures, and may further
authorize the use of any sound-level-measuring instruments and procedures
as may be necessary to accurately determine the level of the sound
being measured.
C.
Rules and regulations. The City Manager is hereby
authorized to promulgate and adopt rules and regulations deemed necessary
for the proper and effective implementation and enforcement of this
chapter, provided that such rules and regulations are consistent with
the provisions of this chapter and the standards established herein.
As an additional remedy to the penalties provided for in §§ 451-3 and 1-27, any violation of this chapter is declared to be a public nuisance, subject to abatement summarily by a restraining order or injunction issued by a court of competent jurisdiction. Any person having standing may enforce the provisions of this chapter, including an application for injunctive relief.
No person shall make or cause to be made any
noise, whether measured or not, which either creates a disturbance
of the public peace or is of such character as to be of actual physical
discomfort to persons of ordinary sensibilities, taking into consideration
the following factors:
A.
The volume of the sound;
B.
The intensity and frequency of the sound;
C.
Whether the nature of the sound is usual or unusual;
D.
Whether the origin of the sound is natural or unnatural;
E.
The volume and intensity of the ambient sound, if
any;
F.
The proximity of the sound to residential sleeping
facilities;
G.
The nature and zoning of the area within which the
sound emanates or is received;
H.
The density of habitation of the area within which
the sound emanates or is received;
I.
The time of the day or night the sound occurs;
J.
The duration of the sound;
K.
Whether the sound is recurrent, intermittent or constant;
L.
Whether the sound is produced by a noncommercial or
a commercial type of activity; and
M.
Other pertinent and applicable factors.
[Amended 3-21-2005 by Ord. No. 05-003]
A.
No person shall use, operate or permit to be played, any radio receiving set, musical instrument, television set, phonograph or other machine or device for the production or reproduction of sound, in such a manner as to disturb the quiet, comfort or repose of any person. The operation of any such set, instrument, phonograph, machine or device in such a manner as to be in violation of § 451-18E shall be prima facie evidence of a violation of this section.
[Amended 3-21-2005 by Ord. No. 05-003]
A.
The installation, use or operation, within the City, of a loudspeaker or sound-amplifying device or equipment for commercial purposes, in such a manner as to disturb the quiet, comfort or repose of any person, is hereby prohibited. The operation of any such equipment or device in such a manner as to be in violation of § 451-18E shall be prima facie evidence of a violation of this section.
[Amended 3-21-2005 by Ord. No. 05-003]
A.
No sound truck or other vehicle equipped with an amplifier
or loudspeaker shall be driven upon any street for the purposes of
selling, offering for sale or advertising in any fashion.
[Amended 3-21-2005 by Ord. No. 05-003]
A.
The selling of anything by outcry within any area
of the City zoned primarily for residential uses is hereby prohibited.
[Amended 9-4-2001 by Ord. No. 01-019]
A.
No person shall use any drum, bell, buzzer or other
instrument or device for the purpose of attracting attention by the
creation of noise to any performance, show, auction or other sale,
or for any other commercial purpose.
[Amended 9-4-2001 by Ord. No. 01-019]
A.
The loading, unloading, opening or otherwise handling
of boxes, crates, containers, garbage containers or other objects,
in such a manner as to disturb the quiet, comfort or repose of any
person, is hereby prohibited.
[Amended 3-21-2005 by Ord. No. 05-003]
A.
Except as hereinafter provided, construction or repair
work on buildings, structures or projects, or the operation of any
pile driver, steam shovel, pneumatic hammer, derrick, steam or electric
hoist, or other construction-type device, in such a manner as to disturb
the quiet, comfort or repose of any person, is hereby prohibited.
In such cases, a permit shall be obtained in accordance with this
chapter.
No person shall create any excessive noise within
the vicinity of any school, institution of learning, church or court
while the same is in use, or within the vicinity of any hospital or
nursing home, which noise unreasonably interferes with the workings
of such institution or disturbs or unduly annoys patients in the hospital,
provided that conspicuous signs are displayed on streets within the
vicinity indicating the presence of a school, hospital, court, church
or nursing home.
[Amended 4-15-1991 by Ord. No. 91-010; 9-4-2001 by Ord. No.
01-019; 10-18-2004 by Ord. No. 04-013]
A.
The use of any truck, automobile, motorcycle or other
vehicle so out of repair, so loaded or in such a manner as to create
loud and unnecessary grating, grinding, rattling or other noise is
hereby prohibited.
B.
No person in control of a parked or moving vehicle,
including motorcycles and mopeds, shall operate or permit the operation
of an electronically amplified sound system in or on the vehicle so
as to produce sound that is clearly audible more than 20 feet from
the vehicle.
[Amended 9-4-2001 by Ord. No. 01-019]
A.
Repairing, rebuilding or testing of any truck, automobile,
motorcycle or other motor vehicle within the City in such a manner
as to disturb the quiet, comfort or repose of any person is hereby
prohibited.
The discharge into the open air of the exhaust
of any steam engine, stationary internal combustion engine, motorboat
or motor vehicle, except through a muffler or other device which will
effectively prevent loud or explosive noises therefrom, is hereby
prohibited. Modifying any noise abatement device on any motor vehicle
or engine in a manner so that the noise emitted by such vehicle or
engine is greater than the noise emitted from the vehicle as originally
manufactured shall be a violation of this section.
