[HISTORY: Adopted by the Town Council of the Town of Louisa 6-20-2017. Amendments noted where applicable.]
This chapter may be cited as the "Noise Control Ordinance of
the Town of Louisa." It shall be applicable to the control of noises
originating within the Town limits.
The Council hereby finds and declares that excessive sound is
a serious hazard to the public health, welfare, peace and safety and
the quality of life; that a substantial body of science and technology
exists by which excessive sound may be substantially abated; that
the people have a right to and should be ensured an environment free
from excessive sound that may jeopardize the public health, welfare,
peace and safety or degrade the quality of life; and that it is the
policy of the Town to prevent such excessive sound.
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:
The sound pressure level in decibels as measured on a sound
level meter using the A-weighting network. The level so read is designated
dB(A) or dBA.
The aggregate of all sound sources impacting at the place
where a specific sound generation is measured or evaluated, excluding
the specific sound generation itself.
A unit for measuring the volume of a sound, equal to 20 times
the logarithm to the base 10 of the ratio of the pressure of the sound
measured to the reference pressure, which is 20 micropascals (20 micronewtons
per square meter).
For the purposes of this chapter, that portion of the Town's
downtown business district bordered by railroad tracks on the north,
a Town entrance on the south, a Town entrance on the west, and a Town
entrance on the east, consisting of public streets, public sidewalks
and pedestrian walkways, public open spaces, outdoor cafe areas operated
under any permit granted by the Town, public or privately owned alleys
and any privately owned outdoor property that is open to the public
for commercial or recreational purposes.
[Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General
Provisions, Art. II)]
Any occurrence or set of circumstances involving actual or
imminent physical trauma or property damage which demands immediate
action.
Any work performed for the purpose of preventing or alleviating
the physical trauma or property damage threatened or caused by an
emergency.
The value specified by the manufacturer as the recommended
maximum loaded weight of a single motor vehicle. In cases where trailers
and tractors are separable, the gross combination weight rating (GCWR),
which is the value specified by the manufacturer as the recommended
maximum loaded weight of the combination vehicle, shall be used.
Refers to any musical instrument, radio, phonograph, compact
disc player, cassette tape player, amplifier or any other machine
or device for producing, reproducing or amplification of sound.
Any vehicle for which regulations apply pursuant to Section
18 of the Federal Noise Control Act of 1972 (P.L. 92-574), as amended,
pertaining to motor carriers engaged in interstate commerce.
Any self-propelled device or device designed for self-propulsion,
upon or by which any person or property is or may be drawn or transported
upon a street or highway, except devices moved by human power or used
exclusively upon stationary wheels or tracks.
Any motor vehicle designed to travel on not more than three
wheels in contact with the ground and any four-wheeled vehicle weighing
less than 500 pounds and equipped with an engine of less than six
horsepower, excepting farm tractors.
Any sound which annoys or disturbs humans or which causes
or tends to cause an adverse psychological or physiological effect
on humans.
An imaginary line along the ground surface, and its vertical
extension, which separates the real property owned, leased or otherwise
legally controlled by one person from that owned, leased or otherwise
legally controlled by another person, including intra-building real
property divisions.
Any location within an R-G and R-L District.
[Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General
Provisions, Art. II)]
Any building or structure where in the normal course of business
food or drink is available for eating on the premises, in consideration
for payment. For purposes of this chapter, the term restaurant includes,
but is not limited to, bars, lounges, taverns, coffee shops and cafes.
An oscillation in pressure, particle displacement, particle
velocity or other physical parameter, in a medium with internal forces
that causes compression and rarefaction of that medium. The description
of sound may include any characteristic of such sound, including duration,
intensity and frequency.
Any conduct, activity or operation, whether human, mechanical,
electronic or other, and whether continuous, intermittent or sporadic,
and whether stationary or ambulatory in nature, which produces or
results in an audible sound.
The weighted sound pressure level obtained by the use of
a sound level meter and the A-frequency weighting network, as specified
in American National Standards Institute specifications for sound
level meters.
An instrument which includes a microphone, amplifier, RMS
detector, integrator or time averager, output meter and weighting
networks used to measure sound pressure levels.
The noise control program established by this chapter shall
be enforced and administered by the Police Department with the assistance
of other Town departments as required.
A.
Any person who violates any provision of this chapter shall be deemed
to be guilty of a Class 4 misdemeanor.
B.
The person operating or controlling a noise source shall be guilty
of any violation caused by that source. If that cannot be determined,
any owner, tenant, resident or manager physically present on the property
where the violation is occurring is rebuttably presumed to be guilty
of the violation.
No provisions of this chapter shall apply to the emission of
sound for the purpose of alerting persons to the existence of an emergency
or the emission of sound in the performance of emergency work.
In order to implement and enforce this chapter effectively,
the Chief of Police shall develop and promulgate standards and procedures
for testing and validating sound level meters used in the enforcement
of this chapter.
A.
Nighttime. No person shall permit, operate or cause any source of
sound to create a sound level in a residential zone or within any
residential building during the hours between 10:00 p.m. and 6:00
a.m. in excess of 55 dB(A) when measured at or outside the property
boundary.
B.
Daytime. No person shall permit, operate or cause any source of sound
to create a sound level in a residential zone or within any residential
building during the hours between 6:00 a.m. and 10:00 p.m. in excess
of 65 dB(A) when measured at or outside the property boundary.
C.
Measurements in multifamily structures. In a structure used as a
multifamily dwelling, the Police Department may take measurements
to determine sound levels from common areas within or outside the
structure or from other dwelling units within the structure, when
requested to do so by the owner or tenant in possession and control
thereof. Such measurement shall be taken at a point at least four
feet from the wall, ceiling or floor nearest the noise source, with
doors to the receiving area closed and windows in the normal position
for the season.
D.
Exemptions. The following activities or sources of noise shall be exempt from the daytime prohibition set forth in Subsection B of this section:
(1)
Band performances or practices, athletic contests or practices and
other school-sponsored activities on the grounds of public or private
schools or at a school-sponsored activity.
[Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General
Provisions, Art. II)]
(2)
Athletic contests and other officially sanctioned activities in Town
parks.
(3)
Activities related to the construction, repair, maintenance, remodeling
or demolition, grading or other improvement of real property.
(4)
Gardening, lawn care, tree maintenance or removal and other landscaping
activities.
(5)
Church bells or carillons.
(6)
Religious or political gatherings and other activities protected
by the First Amendment to the United States Constitution.
(7)
Activities for which the regulation of noise has been preempted by
federal law.
(8)
Public and private transportation, refuse collection and sanitation
services.
A.
No person shall operate or cause to be operated a public or private
motor vehicle or motorcycle on a public right-of-way at any time in
such a manner that the sound level emitted by the motor vehicle or
motorcycle, when measured at a distance of 50 feet or more, exceeds
the level set forth in the following table:
|
Sound level in dBA
| ||
|---|---|---|
|
Vehicle Class
|
Speed limit 35 mph or less
|
Speed limit over 35 mph
|
|
All motor vehicles of GVWR or GCWR of 6,000 lbs. or more
|
86
|
90
|
|
Any motorcycle
|
82
|
86
|
|
Any other motor vehicle or any combination of vehicles towed
by any motor vehicle
|
76
|
82
|
B.
This section shall not apply to any motor carrier vehicle engaged
in interstate commerce.
C.
Notwithstanding any other provisions of this section or provisions
of this chapter related to noise, it shall be unlawful for any person
to play or operate or permit the playing, use or operation of any
radio, tape player, compact disc player, loud speaker or other electronic
device used for the amplification of sound, which is located within
a motor vehicle being operated or parked on public or private property
within the Town, including any public or private street or alley,
in such manner as to disturb the peace, quiet and comfort of passersby
or other persons outside of the subject motor vehicle. The operation
of any such machine or device between the hours of 10:00 p.m. and
6:00 a.m. in such a manner as to be audible to the human ear at a
distance of 100 or more feet from the vehicle in which it is located
shall be prima facie evidence of a violation of this section. Such
acts for purposes of this subsection are hereby found to be the creation
of unreasonably loud, disturbing and unnecessary noise in the Town.
The provisions of this subsection shall not apply to motor vehicles
driven in a duly authorized parade, nor to motor vehicle alarms or
other security devices, nor to the emission of sound for the purpose
of alerting persons to the existence of an emergency or the emission
of sound in the performance of emergency work.
A.
In the Downtown Business District, it shall be unlawful for any person
to make, cause or continue any sound generation in such a manner as
to unreasonably disturb the comfort, health, peace, quiet, safety,
or welfare of others.
B.
The use or operation of any instrument, machine, device or human voice to cause a sound generation of 75 dB(A) or more at a distance of 10 feet or more from the source of the sound generation shall constitute prima facie evidence of a violation of § 107-10A above.
C.
The prohibitions set forth within this section shall not apply to
any sound generation which occurs:
(1)
As part of a community event; or
[Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General
Provisions, Art. II)]
(2)
As part of any emergency signal device, such as a gong, bell, siren, whistle, or horn, or any similar device for the purposes set forth within § 107-6; or
(3)
From public and private transportation, refuse collection and sanitation
services.
D.
Sound generation from a special event, conducted in accordance with
a valid permit issued by the Town in accordance with the Town's
special events regulations, shall be in compliance with the noise
level and sound amplification requirements set forth in the permit
for that special event, in lieu of the prohibitions set forth within
this section.
[Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General
Provisions, Art. II)]
No person shall permit, operate or cause any amplified sound
to create a sound level emanating from a restaurant or music hall
during the hours between 11:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m. in excess of 75
dB(A) when measured at a residential property boundary.
A.
The decibel level of any noise regulated by this chapter may be measured
by the use of a sound level meter which measures sound pressure levels.
Such measurements shall be accepted as prima facie evidence of the
level of noise at issue in any court or legal proceeding to enforce
the provisions of this chapter.
B.
The accuracy of the sound level meter may be tested by a calibrator.
Any sworn report of the results of any test of the calibrator for
the accuracy of a sound level meter shall be admissible in court in
any criminal or civil proceeding, as evidence of the facts therein
stated.
C.
An individual operating a sound level meter pursuant to the provisions
of this chapter shall issue a certificate to indicate:
(1)
That the sound level meter used to take the decibel level reading
was operated in accordance with the manufacturer's specifications;
(2)
That the Town has on file a sworn report which states that the sound
level meter has been tested within the past 12 months and has been
found to be accurate;
(3)
The name of the accused;
(4)
The location of the noise;
(5)
The date and time that the reading was made; and
(6)
The decibel level reading.
D.
Such certificate,
when attested by the operator taking the decibel level reading, shall
be admissible in court in any criminal or civil proceeding as evidence
of the facts therein stated and of the decibel level reading. A copy
of the certificate shall be delivered to the accused upon request.
