[Adopted 11-20-1968 as Ch. 5 of Part III of the Code of Ordinances (1968)]
It shall be unlawful for any person, firm or corporation to make or continue, or cause or permit to be made or continued, any loud, raucous, unnecessary or unusual noise which annoys, disturbs, interferes with, injures or endangers the comfort, repose, health, peace or safety of others within the Village.
No person owning, ocupying or having charge of any building or premises or any part thereof in the Village of Kensington shall make or cause or permit to be made in such building or upon such premises any loud, raucous, unnecessary or unusual noise which is prohibited by § 97-1.
The following acts are declared to be prohibited under §§ 97-1 and 97-2, but such enumeration shall not be deemed complete or inclusive:
A. 
The use or operation of any radio receiving set, television set, musical instrument, phonograph or sound amplifier, air conditioner, fan, lawn sprinkler or other similar mechanical device in such manner as to create any sound or noise exceeding 35 decibels at the adjoining property line.
B. 
The using, operating or permitting to be played, used or operated of any radio receiving set, musical instrument, phonograph, loudspeaker, sound amplifier, automobile horn or other machine or device for the producing or reproducing of sound which is cast upon the public streets for the purpose of commercial advertising or otherwise attracting the attention of the public.
C. 
Yelling, shouting, hooting, whistling or singing on the public streets between the hours of 11:00 p.m. and 8:00 a.m. or at any time or place so as to annoy or disturb the quiet, comfort or repose of any persons in the vicinity.
D. 
The discharge into the open air of the exhaust of any internal-combustion engine except through a muffler or other device which will effectively prevent loud or explosive noises therefrom.
E. 
The use of any automobile, truck, motorcycle or vehicle so out of repair, so loaded or in such manner as to create loud and unnecessary grating, griding, rattling or other noise.
F. 
The operation of any pile driver, steam shovel, pneumatic hammer, derrick, steam or electric hoist, bulldozer, large truck or trailer truck or other vehicle or other construction equipment, the use of which is attended by loud or unusual noise, except between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m., Monday through Friday. No such operation, however, shall be conducted on public holidays established by federal law.
[Amended 7-19-1989 by L.L. No. 15-1989; 11-19-2014 by L.L. No. 8-2014]
G. 
The erection, excavation, demolition, alteration, repair, and construction of any building or structure, except between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m., Monday through Friday. No such work, however, shall be performed on Saturdays, Sundays and federal holidays. Such work may be permitted on a limited basis if, in the sole judgment of the Village, it is required as an urgent necessity, in the interest of public safety or in cases of extreme hardship. Permission must be requested and approved prior to the work commencing.[1]
[Amended 7-19-1989 by L.L. No. 15-1989; 11-19-2014 by L.L. No. 8-2014; 10-19-2022 by L.L. No. 3-2022]
[1]
Editor's Note: Former Subsection H, regarding the use of gas-powered leaf blowers, which immediately followed, was repealed 10-18-2017 by L.L. No. 3-2017.
A. 
No person shall use or operate, or cause or permit to be used or operated, in any building or on any premises or on any street or public property, any radio, phonograph, television or other mechanical or electrical sound-making or sound-reproducing device, or any air conditioner, fan, cooling device, lawn sprinkler, vehicle, motor or mechanical or electrical device or any character which creates a noise that exceeds the limiting noise spectra set forth in Tables I and II following:
Table I
Limiting Noise Spectrum for Transient Noise
Band Pressure Level Decibels re 0.0002 Microbars
Octave Band Center Frequency Cycle per Second
92
63
87
125
79
250
72
500
66
1,000
60
2,000
54
4,000
52
8,000
Table II
Limiting Noise Spectrum for Steady Noise
Band Pressure Level Decibels re 0.0002 Microbars
Octave Band Center Frequency Cycle per Second
72
63
67
125
59
250
52
500
46
1,000
40
2,000
34
4,000
32
8,000
B. 
During the daytime from 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m., the limits of Table I hereinbefore set forth shall apply to transient noises having a duration in excess of 12 seconds. During the night from 7:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m., the same limits shall apply to transient noises having a duration in excess of six seconds.
C. 
Noise limits shall apply and noise measurements shall be made:
(1) 
At the adjoining property line if the noise is created on private property; or
(2) 
Where the noise is created, if it is created on public property; or
(3) 
In either case, at any more distant point on public or private property in any direction.
For the purpose of § 97-4, the following definitions shall apply:
AMBIENT NOISE
All-encompassing noise associated with a given environment.
BAND PRESSURE LEVEL
The band pressure level of a sound from a specified frequency band is the sound-pressure level for the sound contained within the restricted band. The reference pressure must be specified.
BEL
A unit of level when the base of a logarithm is 10 and such is restricted to levels of quantities proportional to power.
CYCLE
The complete sequence of values of a periodic quantity that occur during a period.
DECIBEL
One-tenth of a bel and is a unit of level when the base of the logarithm is the tenth root of 10 and the quantities concerned are proportional to power.
DURATION
The duration of a transient noise from a machine during the entire period when the transient noise is first distinguished from the ambient noise until the noise from the same machine finally recedes into the ambient noise shall be the period of time beginning when the transient noise first exceeds a certain band pressure level until it no longer exceeds the same band pressure level and provided that it remains above the same band pressure level for at least 1/3 of the total duration.
FREQUENCY
The frequency of a function periodic in time is the reciprocal of the primitive period. The unit is the cycle per unit time and must be specified.
MICROBARS
A unit of pressure commonly used in acoustics and is equal to one dyne per square centimeter.
NOISE
Any increase in the ambient noise, measured as provided in § 97-4, caused by any device referred to in said section.
SOUND ANALYZER
A device for measuring the band pressure level or pressure spectrum level of a sound as a function of frequency.
SOUND-LEVEL METER
An instrument, including a microphone, an amplifier, an output meter and frequency weighting networks, for the measure-meter and frequency weighting in the manner provided by this Article.
SOUND-PRESSURE LEVEL
The sound-pressure level, in decibels, of a sound is 20 times the logarithm to the base 10 of the ratio of the pressure of this sound to the reference pressure, which reference pressure must be explicitly stated.
SPECTRUM
A function of time and is a description of its resolution into components, each of different frequency, and is also used to signify continuous range of components usually wide in extent within which waves have some specified characteristics, such as audiofrequency spectrum, and is also applied to functions of variables other than time.
STEADY NOISE
Any noise having a duration in excess of one minute shall be considered a steady noise and the limits of Table II of this Article shall apply.
TRANSIENT NOISE
Any noise having a duration of one minute or less shall be considered a transient noise and the limits of Table I of this Article shall apply.