In this chapter the following words and phrases have the meanings
indicated:
ANSI
American National Standards Institute or its successor.
CONSTRUCTION
Any site preparation, assembly, erection, repair, alteration,
or similar activity.
CURTILAGE
The enclosed land surrounding a house or dwelling including
all areas maintained in lawn or horticultural plantings and may be
bounded by a fence or wall, but would not typically include areas
more distant than 300 feet from the dwelling unless those areas were
horticulturally maintained and routinely used as areas of personal
refuge, or supported by accessory structures that were routinely utilized.
dBA
An A-weighted sound pressure, i.e. the sound level in decibels
determined by the A-weighting network of a sound level meter or by
calculation from octave band or 1/3 octave band data, generally considered
to be most closely correlated to human sensitivity to noise.
DECIBEL or dB
A unit of sound measure equal to 10 times the logarithm (base
10) of the ratio of the square of the measured sound pressure to the
square of a standard reference pressure (20 micropascals). LDN = 10 LOG10 where LD = the daytime average sound level and LN = the nighttime average sound level.
DEMOLITION
Any dismantling, destruction, razing, or removal activities.
DUST
Fine, dry pulverized particulate matter including, without
limitation, earth and sand.
EMERGENCY
Any occurrence or set of circumstances involving actual or
physical trauma or property damage, which demands immediate attention.
ENFORCEMENT OFFICIAL
Any employee of the Caroline County Sheriff's Department,
including the Sheriff, the Maryland Department of the Environment,
or the Caroline County Government who may be authorized by the County
Commissioners to enforce the provisions of this chapter.
EXCESSIVE DUST
Dust in such quantity and duration as may tend to:
A.
Injure human heath or welfare, animal or plant life or property;
B.
Limit visibility or interfere with the scenic or aesthetic qualities
of the County; or
C.
Interfere with the enjoyment of life or property.
HERTZ or Hz
The international unit of frequency, equal to one cycle per
second.
IEC
International Electrotechnical Commission.
LAND USE AREA
An area within Caroline County within which a specific use
has been established. Land use areas may or may not correspond to
zoning districts. For the purposes of this chapter, land use areas
will be classified as follows:
A.
Commercial: property used for the general commerce, i.e. retail
sales.
B.
Industrial: property used for manufacturing and storage of manufactured
goods and raw materials.
C.
Residential: property used for single or multifamily dwellings.
NOISE
The intensity, frequency, duration, and character of sound,
including sound and vibration of subaudible frequencies.
NOISE POLLUTION
The presence of noise of sufficient loudness, character,
and duration which, whether from a single source or multiple sources,
is, or may be predicted with reasonable certainty to be, injurious
to health or which unreasonably interferes with the proper enjoyment
of property or with any lawful business or activity.
PERSON
Includes the federal government, the state, any County, municipal
corporation, or other political subdivision of the state, or any of
their units, or an individual, receiver, trustee, guardian, executor,
administrator, fiduciary, or representative of any kind, or any partnership,
firm, association, public or private corporation, or any other entity.
PLAINLY AUDIBLE
Any sound produced by a radio, tape player, phonograph, disc
player, computer, loud speaker, microphone or other mechanical sound-making
device or instrument, including an amplified, acoustic or percussive
instrument, that can be clearly heard by a person using his or her
own normal hearing faculties.
[Added 4-18-2017 by Bill
No. 2017-1]
PROMINENT DISCRETE TONE
Any sound which can be distinctly heard as a single pitch
or a set of single pitches. For the purposes of this chapter, a prominent
discrete tone shall exist if the 1/3 octave band sound pressure level
in the band with the tone exceeds the arithmetic average of the sound
pressure levels of the two contiguous 1/3 octave bands by five dB
for center frequencies of 500 Hz and above and by eight dB for center
frequencies between 160 Hz and 400 Hz and by 15 dB for center frequencies
less than or equal to 125 Hz.
PUBLIC PROPERTY
Any real or personal property owned, leased, or otherwise
controlled by any unit of government whether federal, state, County,
or municipal.
REAL PROPERTY LINE[Added 4-18-2017 by Bill. No. 2017-1]
Either:
A.
The vertical boundary that separates one parcel of property
(i.e., lot and block) from another residential or commercial property,
including establishments licensed to sell alcohol;
B.
The vertical and horizontal boundaries of a dwelling unit that
is part of a multi-dwelling-unit building; or
C.
On a multi-use property, the vertical or horizontal boundaries
between the two portions of the property on which different categories
of activity are being performed.
SENSITIVE RECEPTORS
Land uses that are susceptible to disruption from excessive
sound levels. For the purposes of this chapter, sensitive receptors
include hospitals, libraries, churches, elder care facilities, daycare
facilities, and other uses as designated by the County Commissioners.
SOUND LEVEL
In decibels, the weighted sound pressure level measured by
the use of a sound level meter. Sound level and noise level are synonymous.
The weighting employed shall always be specific.
SOUND LEVEL METER
An instrument meeting appropriate International Electrotechnical
Commission (IEC) and ANSI standards for measuring frequency weighted
sound pressure.
SOUND PRESSURE
The fluctuations in atmospheric pressure, which are resultant
from the wake of the passage of a sound wave.
SOUND PRESSURE LEVEL
In decibels, 20 times the logarithm to the base 10 of the
ratio of a sound pressure to the reference sound pressure of 20 micropascals
(20 micro newtons per square meter). In the absence of any modifier,
the pressure is understood to be that of a root-mean-square pressure.
SOUND PRODUCTION DEVICE
Any device whose primary function is the production of sound,
including, but not limited to, any musical instrument, loudspeaker,
radio, television, digital or analog music player, public address
system or sound-amplifying equipment.
[Added 4-18-2017 by Bill
No. 2017-1]
SOURCE
Any person or property, real or personal, contributing to
noise pollution.
VIBRATION
Any oscillatory motion of solid bodies.