It is found and declared that:
A. The making and creation of loud, unnecessary or unusual
noises within the limits of the Borough of Northvale is a condition which
has existed for some time and the extent and volume of such noises is increasing.
B. The making, creation or maintenance of such loud, unnecessary,
unnatural or unusual noises which are prolonged, unusual and unnatural in
their time, place and use affect and are a detriment to public health, comfort,
morals, convenience, safety, welfare and prosperity of the residents of the
Borough of Northvale.
C. The necessity in the public interest for the provisions
and prohibitions hereinafter contained and enacted is declared as a matter
of legislative determination and public policy, and it is further declared
that the provisions and prohibitions hereinafter contained and enacted are
in pursuance of and for the purpose of securing and promoting the public health,
comfort, morals, convenience, safety, welfare and prosperity and the peace
and quiet of the Borough of Northvale and its inhabitants.
It shall be unlawful for any person to make, continue or cause to be
made or continued any loud, unnecessary or unusual noise or any noise which
either annoys, disturbs, injures or endangers the comfort, repose, health,
morals, peace or safety of others within the limits of the borough.
Notwithstanding the provisions in §
127-4 aforesaid, any noise created in the Borough of Northvale shall, in addition to the limitation of the hours of operation or restrictions, meet the following standards:
A. General provisions; tests for unlawful noise. The standards which shall be considered in determining whether a violation of §
127-3 aforesaid exists shall include but not be limited to the following:
(2) The intensity of the noise.
(3) Whether the nature of the noise is usual or unusual.
(4) Whether the origin of the noise is natural or unnatural.
(5) The volume and intensity of the background noise, if
any.
(6) The proximity of the noise to residential sleeping facilities.
(7) The nature and zoning of the area within which the noise
emanates.
(8) The density of inhabitation of the area within which
the noise emanates.
(9) The time of the day or night the noise occurs.
(10) The duration of the noise.
(11) Whether the noise is recurrent, intermittent or constant.
(12) Whether the noise is produced by a commercial or noncommercial
activity.
B. Classification of use districts, residential, manufacturing
and commercial. It shall be unlawful to project a sound or noise, excluding
noise emanating from cars, trucks or motorcycles, from one property to another
within the boundary of a use district which exceeds either the limiting noise
spectra set forth in Table I below or exceeds the ambient noise level by more
than three decibels.
(1) Sound or noise projecting from one use district into
another use district with a different noise level limit shall not exceed the
limits of the district into which the noise is projected.
(2) Measurement of noise.
(a) The measurement of sound or noise shall be made with
a sound level meter and octave band analyzer meeting the standards prescribed
by the American Standards Association. The instruments shall be maintained
in calibration and good working order. Octave band corrections may be employed
in meeting the response specification. A calibration check shall be made of
the system at the time of any noise measurement. Measurements recorded shall
be taken so as to provide a proper representation of the noise source. The
microphone during the measurement shall be positioned so as not to create
any unnatural enhancement or diminution of the measured noise. A windscreen
for the microphone shall be used when required. Traffic, aircraft and other
transportation noise sources and other background noises shall not be considered
in taking measurements except where such background noise interferes with
the primary noise being measured.
(b) The slow meter response of the sound level meter shall
be used in order to best determine that the average amplitude has not exceeded
the limiting noise spectra set forth in Table I below.
(c) The measurement shall be made at the property line of
the property on which such noise is generated or perceived, as appropriate,
five feet above ground.
(d) In the case of an elevated or directional sound or noise
source, compliance with the noise limits is to be maintained at any elevation
at the boundary.
(3) The limits hereinabove referred to shall be in accordance
with the following table:
TABLE I
LIMITING NOISE LEVELS FOR USE DISTRICTS
|
|
Maximum Permissible Sound Pressure Level
(in decibels re 0.0002 microbars)
Use District
|
Octave Band Center Frequency
(cycles per second)
|
Residential
|
Commercial
|
Manufacturing
|
Below 75
|
65
|
79
|
80
|
75 to 150
|
60
|
74
|
75
|
150 to 300
|
55
|
66
|
70
|
300 to 600
|
55
|
59
|
64
|
600 to 1,200
|
45
|
53
|
58
|
1,200 to 2,400
|
45
|
47
|
53
|
2,400 to 4,800
|
40
|
41
|
49
|
Above 4,800
|
40
|
49
|
46
|
(4) If the noise is not smooth and continuous and is not radiated between the hours of 9:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m., one or more of the corrections in Table II below shall be added to or subtracted from each of the decibel levels given in Table I of Subsection
B(3) of this section.
TABLE II
TYPE OF OPERATION IN
CHARACTER OF NOISE
|
Type of Noise
|
Correction
(in decibels)
|
Noise source operated less than 20 percent of any 1-hour period
|
Plus 5
|
Noise source operated less than 5 percent of any 1-hour period
|
Plus 10
|
Noise source operated less than 1 percent of any 1-hour period
|
Plus 15
|
Noise of impulsive character (hammering, etc.)
|
Minus 5
|
Noise of periodic character (hum, screech, etc.)
|
Minus 5
|
Noise present between the hours of 10:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m. on Monday
through Saturday or at any time on Sunday or holidays
|
Minus 7
|
(Apply one of these corrections only)
|
|
C. Enclosed places of public entertainment.
(1) It shall be unlawful to sustain in any enclosed place
of public entertainment, including but not limited to a restaurant, bar, cafe,
discotheque or dance hall, any amplitude equal to or in excess of 95 dB(A)
sustained for more than 30 seconds.
(2) Measurement of noise. Such sound or noise is to be measured
by a sound level meter approved by the American Standards Association from
any area to which the public is invited within any enclosed place of public
entertainment.
D. Exemptions. The following uses and activities shall be
exempt from noise level regulations:
(1) Noises of safety signals, warning devices and emergency
pressure relief valves.
(2) Noises resulting from any authorized emergency vehicle,
when responding to an emergency call or acting in time of emergency.
(3) Noises resulting from emergency work as defined in §
127-2.
(4) Any other noise resulting from activities of a temporary duration permitted by law and for which a license or permit therefor has been granted by the borough in accordance with Subsection
E below.
E. Application for special permit.
(1) Applications for a permit for relief from the noise level
designated in this chapter on the basis of undue hardship may be made to the
Mayor and Council or their duly authorized representative. Any permit granted
by the Mayor and Council hereunder shall contain all conditions upon which
said permit has been granted and shall specify a reasonable time that the
permit shall be effective. The Mayor and Council or their duly authorized
representative may grant the relief as applied for if they find that:
(a) Additional time is necessary for the applicant to alter
or modify his activity or operation to comply with this chapter.
(b) The activity, operation or noise source will be of temporary
duration and cannot be done in a manner that would comply with other subsections
of this section.
(c) No other reasonable alternative is available to the applicant.
(2) The Mayor and Council may prescribe any conditions or
requirements they deem necessary to minimize adverse effects upon the community
or the surrounding neighborhood.
Nothing in this chapter shall be deemed to prohibit:
A. The owner or occupant of a dwelling at a reasonable hour
from mowing the lawn around such dwelling with a power mower or removing snow
with a power blower or from making minor repairs necessary for normal maintenance
of such dwelling at any time with any equipment other than with bulldozers,
tractors, jackhammers or gasoline-powered saws, provided that the making of
such minor repairs is not accompanied by any loud, unnecessary or unusual
noise; provided, however, that any such activity between the hours of 12:00
midnight and 6:00 a.m. shall be deemed to be prima facie a violation of this
chapter.
B. Bells, chimes or music between the hours of 6:00 a.m.
and 9:30 p.m. from any church, or music in keeping with the Christmas season
during the Christmas season from any private or public source.
C. Playing by a band or orchestra in a hall, nonresidential building or in the public parks for regular concerts or dances or other events consistent with Chapter
200, Zoning, or by virtue of special permission of the Mayor and Council of the Borough of Northvale.
D. Parades approved by the Mayor and Council according to
law.
E. The use of sound trucks by civic, charitable, religious,
political and other nonprofit corporations when approved according to law
or by special permission of the Mayor and Council, provided that no commercial
or advertising material is programmed, and provided further that the use of
the sound truck is limited to the hours and routes prescribed, which in no
case shall be before 9:00 a.m. nor after 5:00 p.m. on Monday through Saturday
and not at all on Sunday.
F. Police, fire, ambulance, air raid or other sirens which
may be operated by the borough or civil defense or other governmental authorities.
Violations of this chapter shall be prosecuted in the same manner as other violations of the ordinances of the Borough of Northvale; provided, however, that in the event of violation of §
127-5 of this chapter, a written notice of intention to prosecute will be given the alleged violator not fewer than five calendar days prior to the issuance of a summons. No complaint shall be issued in the event that the cause of the violation is removed and the condition abated or fully corrected within such five-day period. In the event that 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 last known address or at the place where the violation occurred, in which event the five-day period shall commence at the date of the day following the mailing of such notice.
As an additional remedy, the operation or maintenance of any device,
instrument, vehicle, machinery or business in violation of any provision hereof
and which causes discomfort or annoyance to reasonable persons of normal sensitiveness
or which endangers the comfort, repose, health or peace of residents in the
area shall be deemed and is declared to be a public nuisance and may be subject
to abatement summarily by a restraining order or injunction issued by a court
of competent jurisdiction.
In the event that the State of New Jersey through the Department of
Community Affairs, the Department of Environmental Protection and Energy or
any similar state agency promulgates stricter standards, then, in that event,
all persons within the Borough of Northvale shall comply with the higher state
regulations, notwithstanding the provisions of this chapter.
Any person or persons, firm or corporation who or which violates any provision of this chapter shall be punishable as provided in Chapter
1, General Provisions, Article
II General Penalties. Each and every day on which the violation takes place or continues shall be deemed to be a separate violation.