[HISTORY: Adopted by the Board of Trustees of the Village
of Elmira Heights 7-3-2012 by L.L. No. 2-2012. Amendments noted where
applicable.]
This chapter shall be known as the "Noise Control Ordinance"
of the Village of Elmira Heights.
The following words, terms and phrases, when used in this chapter,
shall have the meanings ascribed to them in this section, except where
the context clearly indicates a different meaning:
Any act or combination of acts which causes the production
of sound.
Any animal under the control of an individual, including
birds.
Any or all activity necessary or incidental to each erection,
demolition, assembling, altering, installing or equipment of buildings,
public or private highways, roads, premises, parks, utility lines
or other property, including land clearing, grading, excavating and
filling.
A public calamity or an exposure of any person or property
to imminent danger.
Any gong, siren, whistle, air horn or similar device, the
use of which on emergency vehicles is permitted by Vehicle and Traffic
Law of the State of New York.
Any sound which endangers or injures the safety or health
of humans or animals or annoys or disturbs a reasonable person of
normal sensitivity or endangers or injures personal or real property.
Every device in, upon or by which any person or property
is or may be transported or drawn, which is propelled by any power
other than muscular power, except vehicles which run only upon rails
or tracks. This definition shall include but is not limited to trucks,
buses, automobiles, vans, motorcycles, motor-driven cycles, motor
scooters, dune buggies, snowmobiles, all-terrain vehicles, go-carts,
minibikes, trail bikes and all other types of motorized recreational
vehicles.
Any sound of such a level or duration:
Any person who has regular control of a device or site, including,
but not limited to, the owner of a freehold of the premises or lesser
estate therein, or an agent of such person.
An imaginary line along the surface of the ground and its
vertical extension, which separates the real property owned by one
person from that owned by another person, but not including intra-building
real property divisions.
A device intended for the production or reproduction of sound,
including but not limited to any radio receiver, television receiver,
tape recorder, compact disk player, musical instrument, photograph
or sound amplifying system.
In addition to the general penalties set forth in § 1-15, any person violating any of the terms of this chapter shall be liable to a fine not to exceed $250 for each violation thereof. Each day of violation of any provision of this chapter shall constitute a separate offense.
Whereas excessive noise is a serious hazard to the public health
and welfare, safety and quality of life and people have a right to
and should be ensured an environment free from excessive noise, it
is therefore declared to be the policy of the Village of Elmira Heights
to prevent excessive noise. It is further declared that the provisions
and prohibitions hereafter contained and enacted are in pursuance
of and for the purpose of preserving, protecting and promoting the
health, comfort, convenience, peace and quiet of the Village and its
inhabitants. This chapter shall be liberally construed so as to effectuate
the purposes described in this section.
No person shall make, continue or cause or permit to be made
or continued any excessive noise.
No person shall operate or use or cause to be operated or used
any sound reproduction device for commercial or business advertising
purposes or for the purpose of attracting attention to any performance,
show or sale or display of merchandise in connection with any commercial
or business enterprise, including those engaged in the sale of radios,
television sets, phonographs, tape recorders, compact disk players,
phonograph records, tapes or compact disks in front of or outside
of any building, place or premises or on or through any aperture of
such building, place or premises abutting on or adjacent to a public
street, park or place or in or upon any vehicle operated, standing
or being in or on any public street, park or place where the sound
therefrom may be heard upon any public street, park or place or from
any stand, platform or other structure or from any airplane or other
device used for flying, flying over the Village or anywhere on the
public streets, parks or places; provided, however, that nothing in
this section shall prohibit vehicles from which ice cream products
or similar products are sold from being equipped with a bell or bell-like
device, nor prohibit the use thereof by the driver of such vehicle,
provided that no such bell or bell-like device shall be capable of
being heard from a distance greater than 400 feet and provided further
that no such bell or bell-like device shall be used for any purpose
between the hours of 9:00 p.m. and 9:00 a.m. the following day nor
be used as an ordinary warning signal at any time.
A.
No person shall use or operate or permit to be used or operated any
radio, television, phonograph, compact disk, musical instrument or
other machine or device for the producing, reproducing or amplification
of sound with louder volume than is necessary for convenient hearing
for the persons who are voluntary listeners thereto. It shall be prima
facie evidence of a violation of this section if sound emanating from
such machine or device is:
(1)
Audible beyond the property lines of the premises upon which it is
being used between the hours of 10:00 p.m. and 8:00 a.m. of the following
day.
(2)
Audible at a distance of 50 feet beyond the property line of the
premises upon which it is being used between the hours of 8:00 a.m.
and 10:00 p.m. of the same day.
(3)
Audible at a distance of 50 feet from such machine or device if operated
from within a motor vehicle on a public street.
(4)
Audible at a distance of 50 feet from such machine or device when
operated in a public park or other public place.
B.
The provisions of this section shall not apply to the following:
(1)
Funeral processions or use of such devices by a church.
(2)
The production of music in connection with any parade authorized
under any provision of law.
(3)
Any musical performance upon a public place where a permit has been
obtained from the Village Clerk for such purpose.
(4)
The use of amplifiers or other sound-producing instruments or equipment
in connection with any religious or political activity or any permitted
athletic competition or recreational event held on athletic fields,
stadiums or public places in the Village.
A.
BARKING DOG WHICH MAKES EXCESSIVE NOISE
The following words, terms and phrases, when used in this section,
shall have the meanings ascribed to them in this subsection, except
where the context clearly indicates a different meaning:
A dog that barks continuously for 10 minutes or intermittently
for 30 minutes.
B.
No person shall own, possess or harbor any animal or bird which,
frequently or for continued duration, makes excessive noise which
is audible across a real property boundary.
No person shall sound or permit the sounding of any exterior
burglar alarm on any building or motor vehicle unless such shall terminate
its operation within 15 minutes of its being activated. Notwithstanding
this provision, any member of the Police Department of the Village
shall have the authority to take such steps as may be necessary to
disconnect any such alarm at any time when such alarm is operating.
Any motor vehicle on which a burglar alarm has been installed and
armed shall, when parked in a public highway, prominently display
a telephone number at which communication may normally be made with
the owner or operator of such motor vehicle.
No person shall operate or use any radio, musical instrument,
television, phonograph or other machine or device in or on any bus
or public means of conveyance, other than taxicabs, in such a manner
that the sound emanating from such sound reproduction device is audible
to another person.
No person shall cause or permit the creation of any excessive
noise through the use of any device on any street, sidewalk or public
place adjacent to any church, court or school while such church, court
or school is in use, or adjacent to any hospital at any time, provided
that signs are displayed so as to identify such church, court school
or hospital.
A.
No person shall operate or permit the operation of any tools or equipment
used in construction, drilling, or demolition work between the hours
of 9:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m. the following day on any day of the week.
No person shall operate or permit the operation of any motorized
or mechanically powered saw, drill, sander, grinder, lawn or garden
tool, or similar device used outdoors in residential areas between
the hours of 8:00 p.m. and 8:00 a.m. the following day on weekdays
and from 8:00 p.m. to 9:00 a.m. the following day on weekends so as
to be audible across a real property boundary.
No person shall cause the sounding of any horn or signaling
device on any automobile, motorcycle, bicycle or other vehicle, except
as a danger warning.
No person shall operate or use or cause to be operated or used
any emergency signal device except:
No person shall make or permit to be made excessive noise in
conjunction with loading or unloading of any vehicle or the opening,
unloading or destruction of bales, crates, containers or construction
material.
It shall be unlawful for any person within any residential area
of the Village to repair, rebuild or test any motor vehicle, motorcycle
or motorboat, in such a manner as to create sound audible beyond the
property lines of the premises upon which it is being repaired, rebuilt
or tested, between the hours of 10:00 p.m. and 8:00 a.m. the following
day.
Notwithstanding the provisions of § 160-11, no person shall operate or permit to be operated a place of public entertainment, including but not limited to, a restaurant, bar, cafe, discotheque or dance hall, in such a manner as to create sound audible beyond the property lines of the premises upon which it is being generated, between the hours of 10:00 p.m. and 8:00 a.m. the following day.
Any noise originating from a satisfactory property location
which is heard at the property line from which the sound is emanating,
or beyond, and found to be audible at a time or place prohibited in
this chapter shall be considered a violation of this chapter.
A.
The provisions of this chapter shall not apply to the emission of
sound for the purpose of alerting persons to the existence of an emergency
or in the performance of emergency work or action.
B.
The Village shall establish regulations governing exceptions, variances
and appeals; such regulations shall be subject to the approval of
the Village Board prior to the promulgation thereof.
C.
The Village shall have the authority to grant special variances which
may be requested.
This chapter shall take effect immediately upon filing with
the Secretary of State.
