It is the policy of the City of Paterson to prevent excessive sound, which may jeopardize the health, welfare or safety of its citizens or degrade the quality of life.
This chapter shall apply to the control of sound originating from sources within the City of Paterson.
The following words and terms, when used in this chapter, shall have the following meanings, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. Terms not defined in this chapter have the same meaning as those defined in N.J.A.C. 7:29.
COMMERCIAL FACILITY Any premises, property or facility involving traffic in goods or furnishing of services for sale or profit, including but not limited to:
A. Banking and other financial institutions;
C. Establishments for providing retail services;
D. Establishments for providing wholesale services;
E. Establishments for recreation and entertainment;
I. Establishments providing living accommodations which exceed six dwelling units, including, but not limited to, apartments, co-ops, hotels, motels, and dormitories, when they are the source of the sound that is being investigated and the source of sound is a heating, air-conditioning, pool filter unit or system, or outdoor amplified sound system.
COMMUNITY SERVICE FACILITY Any nonresidential facility used to provide service to the public, including but not limited to:
A. Club meeting halls, offices and facilities;
B. Organization offices and facilities;
C. Facilities for the support and practice of religion;
D. Private and parochial schools;
F. Offices and buildings of agencies or instrumentalities of government; and
G. Maintenance centers (such as Department of Public Works facilities).
CONSTRUCTION Any site preparation, assembly, erection, repair, alteration, or similar action of buildings or structures.
CONTINUOUS AIRBORNE SOUND Sound that is measured by the slow response setting of a sound-level meter in accordance with the provisions of N.J.A.C. 7:29-2, and which lasts one second or longer. Impulsive sounds that are rapidly repetitive and have a duration of one second or longer shall be measured as continuous airborne sound.
dBA The abbreviation designating the unit of sound level as measured by a sound-level meter using the A-weighting.
DECIBEL (dB) The practical unit of measurement for sound pressure level; the number of decibels of a measured sound is equal to 20 times the logarithm to the base 10 of the ratio of the sound pressure of the measured sound to the sound pressure of a standard sound (20 micropascals); abbreviated "dB."
DEMOLITION Any dismantling, destruction or removal of buildings, structures, or roadways.
DEPARTMENT The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection.
EMERGENCY WORK Any work or action necessary at the site of an emergency to restore or deliver essential services, including, but not limited to, repairing water, gas, electricity, telephone, sewer facilities, or public transportation facilities, removing fallen trees on public rights-of-way, dredging navigational waterways, or abating life-threatening conditions or a state of emergency declared by a governing agency.
FREQUENCY The number of sound pressure oscillations per second expressed in hertz; abbreviated "Hz."
IMPULSIVE SOUND Either a single pressure peak or a single burst (multiple pressure peaks) that has a duration of less than one second.
INDUSTRIAL FACILITY Any facility, whether public or private, and its related premises, property, or equipment involving:
A. The fabrication, manufacture, or production of durable or nondurable goods; or
B. Industrial-like activities, including, but not limited to:
(4) Water and sewage treatment; and
MINOR VIOLATION A violation that is not the result of the purposeful, reckless or criminally negligent conduct of the alleged violator; and/or the activity or condition constituting the violation has not been the subject of an enforcement action by any authorized local, county or state enforcement agency against the violator within the immediately preceding 12 months for the same or substantially similar violation.
MOTOR VEHICLE Any vehicle that is propelled other than by human or animal power on land.
MUFFLER A properly functioning sound dissipative device or system for abating the sound on engines or equipment where such device is part of the normal configuration of the equipment.
MULTI-DWELLING-UNIT BUILDING Any building comprising two or more dwelling units, including, but not limited to, apartments, condominiums, co-ops, multiple-family houses, townhouses, and attached residences.
MULTI-USE PROPERTY Any distinct parcel of land that is used for more than one category of activity. Examples include, but are not limited to:
A. A commercial, residential, industrial or public service property having boilers, incinerators, elevators, automatic garage doors, air conditioners, laundry rooms, utility provisions, or health and recreational facilities, or other similar devices or areas, either in the interior or on the exterior of the building, which may be a source of elevated sound levels at another category on the same distinct parcel of land; or
B. A building, which is both commercial (usually on the ground floor) and residential property, located above, below or otherwise adjacent to.
NOISE CONTROL INVESTIGATOR (NCI) An employee of a municipality, county or regional health commission that has a Department-approved model noise control ordinance, and the employee has not received noise enforcement training as specified by the Department in N.J.A.C. 7:29. However, they are knowledgeable about their model noise ordinance and enforcement procedures. A Noise Control Investigator may only enforce sections of the ordinance that do not require the use of a sound-level meter. The employee must be acting within his or her designated jurisdiction and must be authorized to issue a summons.
NOISE CONTROL OFFICER (NCO) An employee of a local, county or regional health agency which is certified pursuant to the County Environmental Health Act (N.J.S.A. 26:3A2-21 et seq.) to perform noise enforcement activities or an employee of a municipality with a Department-approved model noise control ordinance. All NCOs must receive noise enforcement training as specified by the Department in N.J.A.C. 7:29 and must be currently certified in noise enforcement. The employee must be acting within his or her designated jurisdiction and must be authorized to issue a summons.
PERSON Any individual, public or private corporation, political subdivision, governmental agency, department or bureau of the state, municipality, industry, or association, including condominium or co-op associations, limited liability corporations, and partnerships and limited liability partnerships.
PLAINLY AUDIBLE Any sound that can be detected by an NCO or an NCI using his or her unaided hearing faculties of normal acuity. As an example, if the sound source under investigation is a portable or vehicular sound amplification or reproduction device, the detection of the rhythmic bass component of the music is sufficient to verify plainly audible sound. The NCO or NCI need not determine the title, specific words, or the artist performing the song.
PRIVATE RIGHT-OF-WAY Any street, avenue, boulevard, road, highway, sidewalk, alley or easement that is owned, leased, or controlled by a nongovernmental entity.
PUBLIC RIGHT-OF-WAY Any street, avenue, boulevard, road, highway, sidewalk, alley or similar place that is owned or controlled by a governmental entity.
PUBLIC SPACE Any real property or structure thereon which is owned, leased or controlled by a governmental entity.
REAL PROPERTY LINE Either a) the vertical boundary that separates one parcel of property (i.e., lot and block) from another residential or commercial property; b) the vertical and horizontal boundaries of a dwelling unit that is part of a multidwelling unit building; or c) on a multi-use property as defined herein, the vertical or horizontal boundaries between the two portions of the property on which different categories of activity are being performed (e.g., if the multi-use property is a building which is residential upstairs and commercial downstairs, then the real property line would be the interface between the residential area and the commercial area, or if there is an outdoor sound source such as an HVAC unit on the same parcel of property, the boundary line is the exterior wall of the receiving unit). Note: This definition shall not apply to a commercial source and a commercial receptor which are both located on the same parcel of property (e.g., a strip mall).
RESIDENTIAL PROPERTY Property used for human habitation, unless the habitation is a condition of employment, including but not limited to:
A. Private property used for human habitation;
B. Commercial living accommodations and commercial property used for human habitation;
C. Recreational and entertainment property used for human habitation;
D. Community service property used for human habitation.
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.
SOUND REDUCTION DEVICE Any device, such as a muffler, baffle, shroud, jacket, enclosure, isolator, or dampener provided by the manufacturer with the equipment, or that is otherwise required, that mitigates the sound emissions of the equipment.
SOUND-LEVEL METER An instrument for the measurement of sound levels as specified in N.J.A.C. 7:29-2.6(a)1, which provisions are incorporated herein by reference.
STATIONARY EMERGENCY SIGNALING DEVICE Any device, excluding those attached to motor vehicles, used to alert local persons engaged in local emergency operations. These include, but are not limited to, firefighters, first aid squad members and law enforcement officers, whether paid or volunteer.
WEEKDAY Any day that is not a federal holiday, and beginning on Monday at 7:00 a.m. and ending on the following Friday at 6:00 p.m.
WEEKENDS Beginning on Friday at 6:00 p.m. and ending on the following Monday at 7:00 a.m.
[Amended 3-10-2020 by Ord. No. 20-013]
A. Except as provided in §§
337-10 and
337-11 below, the provisions of this chapter shall not apply to the exceptions listed at N.J.A.C. 7:29-1.5. These exemptions are set forth below:
(2) Bells, chimes or carillons, which may include electronic devices that imitate the sounds of bells, chimes or carillons, while being used in conjunction with religious services;
(3) Emergency energy release devices;
(4) When public health or safety is involved, emergency work to provide electricity, water, or other public utilities; to conduct emergency construction or demolition work; to make emergency repairs to public roadways or bridges; to address emergency incidents such as the cleanup of spills of hazardous materials; or upon written approval of the authorized enforcement agency, to utilize sound-producing devices to relocate wildlife;
(5) Motor vehicle racetrack facilities engaged in the racing of motor vehicles;
(6) National Warning System (NAWAS): Systems used to warn the community of attack or imminent public danger such as flooding or explosion. These systems are controlled by the New Jersey Department of Law and Public Safety;
(7) Noise of aircraft flight operations;
(8) Public celebrations that are government-sponsored or government-permitted events;
(10) Surface carriers engaged in commerce by railroad when the noise sources in question are trains in motion, operating retarders, train horns and whistles, or performing locomotive load test cell stands;
(11) The unamplified human voice;
(12) Use of explosive devices: These are regulated by the New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development under the 1960 Explosive Act (N.J.S.A. 21:1A-1 to 21:1A-21);
(13) Normal operation of a handgun, rifle, shotgun, skeetshooting or trapshooting range which has been maintained continuously in the same location since January 24, 1972; or
(14) Emergency electricity generators at an industrial, commercial, or community service facility in use during an electrical outage.
B. Sound production devices required or sanctioned under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), FEMA or other government agencies to the extent that they comply with the noise requirement of the enabling legislation or regulation. Devices which are exempted under N.J.A.C. 7:29-1.5 shall continue to be exempted.
C. Construction and demolition activities are exempt from the sound level limits set forth in Tables I, II and III except as provided for in §
337-10 below.
No person shall cause, suffer, allow, or permit the operation of any sound production device in such a manner that the sound crosses a property line and raises the total sound levels above the neighborhood residual sound level by more than the permissible sound level limits set forth in Table IV when measured within the residence of a complainant according to the measurement protocol in §
337-7B of this chapter. These sound level measurements shall be conducted with the sound level meter set for "C" weighting, "fast" response.
Table IV |
---|
Maximum Permissible Increase in Total Sound Levels Within a Residential Property |
---|
Weeknights 10:00 p.m. to 8:00 a.m. Weekend nights 11:00 p.m. to 9:00 a.m. | All Other Times |
---|
3 dB (C) | 6 dB(C) |
The following standards shall apply to the activities or sources of sound set forth below:
A. Excluding emergency work, power tools, home maintenance tools, landscaping and/or yard maintenance equipment used by a residential property owner or tenant shall not be operated between the hours of 8:00 p.m. and 8:00 a.m., unless such activities can meet the applicable limits set forth in Tables I, II or III. At all other times, the limits set forth in Tables I, II or III do not apply. All motorized equipment used in these activities shall be operated with a muffler and/or sound reduction device.
B. Excluding emergency work, power tools, landscaping and/or yard maintenance equipment used by nonresidential operators (e.g., commercial operators, public employees) shall not be operated on residential, commercial, industrial or public (e.g., golf course, parks, athletic fields) property between the hours of 6:00 p.m. and 8:00 a.m. on weekdays, or between the hours of 6:00 p.m. and 9:00 a.m. on weekends or federal holidays, unless such activities can meet the limits set forth in Tables I, II or III. At all other times, the limits set forth in Tables I, II or III do not apply. All motorized equipment used in these activities shall be operated with a muffler and/or sound reduction device.
C. All construction and demolition activity, excluding emergency work, shall not be performed between the hours of 6:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m. on weekdays, or between the hours of 6:00 p.m. and 9:00 a.m. on weekends and federal holidays, unless such activities can meet the limits set forth in Tables I, II or III. At all other times, the limits set forth in Tables I, II or III do not apply. All motorized equipment used in construction and demolition activity shall be operated with a muffler and/or sound reduction device.
D. Motorized snow removal equipment shall be operated with a muffler and/or a sound reduction device when being used for snow removal. At all other times, the limits set forth in Tables I, II or III do not apply.
E. All interior and exterior burglar alarms of a building or motor vehicle must be activated in such a manner that the burglar alarm terminates its operation within five minutes for continuous airborne sound and 15 minutes for intermittent sound after it has been activated. At all other times, the limits set forth in Tables I, II or III do not apply.
F. Self-contained, portable, nonvehicular music or sound production devices shall not be operated on a public space or public right-of-way in such a manner as to be plainly audible at a distance of 50 feet in any direction from the operator between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 10:00 p.m. Between the hours of 10:00 p.m. and 8:00 a.m., sound, operated on a public space or public right-of-way, from such equipment shall not be plainly audible at a distance of 25 feet in any direction from the operator.
G. Animal noise.
(1) It shall be unlawful for any property owner or tenant to allow any domesticated or caged animal to create a sound across a real property line which unreasonably disturbs or interferes with the peace, comfort, and repose of any resident, or to refuse or intentionally fail to cease the unreasonable noise when ordered to do so by a Noise Control Officer or Noise Control Investigator. Prima facie evidence of a violation of this section shall include but not be limited to:
(a) Vocalizing (howling, yelping, barking, squawking, etc.) for five minutes without interruption, defined as an average of four or more vocalizations per minute in that period; or
(b) Vocalizing for 20 minutes intermittently, defined as an average of two vocalizations or more per minute in that period.
(2) It is an affirmative defense under this subsection that the dog or other animal was intentionally provoked to bark or make any other noise.
Violations of each subsection of this section shall be considered purposeful and therefore non-minor.
A. No person shall remove or render inoperative, or cause to be removed or rendered inoperative or less effective than originally equipped, other than for the purposes of maintenance, repair, or replacement, any device or element of design incorporated in any motor vehicle for the purpose of noise control. No person shall operate a motor vehicle or motorcycle which has been so modified. A vehicle not meeting these requirements shall be deemed in violation of this provision if it is operated stationary or in motion in any public space or public right-of-way.
B. No motorcycle shall be operated stationary or in motion unless it has a muffler that complies with and is labeled in accordance with the federal noise regulations under 40 CFR Part 205.
C. Personal or commercial vehicular music amplification or reproduction equipment shall not be operated in such a manner that it is plainly audible at distance of 25 feet in any direction from the operator between the hours of 10:00 p.m. and 8:00 a.m.
D. Personal or commercial vehicular music amplification or reproduction equipment shall not be operated in such a manner that is plainly audible at a distance of 50 feet in any direction from the operator between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 10:00 p.m.