[Ord. No. BH:02-61 § I]
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.
CONSTRUCTION
Shall mean any site preparation, assembly, erection, repair,
alteration or similar action, including demolition of buildings or
structures.
DEMOLITION
Shall mean any dismantling, destruction or removal of buildings,
structures, or roadways.
DEPARTMENT
Shall mean the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection.
EMERGENCY WORK
Shall mean any work or action necessary to deliver essential
public 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.
IMPULSIVE SOUND
Shall mean either a single pressure peak or a single burst
(multiple pressure peaks) that has a duration of less than one second.
MOTOR VEHICLE
Shall mean any vehicle that is propelled other than by human
or animal power on land.
MUFFLER
Shall mean a properly functioning sound dissipative device
or system for abating the sound of escaping gasses on equipment where
such a device is part of the normal configuration of the equipment.
MULTI-DWELLING UNIT BUILDING
Shall mean 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
Shall mean any distinct parcel of land that is used for more
than one category of activity. Examples include, but are not limited
to:
1.
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
2.
A building which is both commercial (usually on the ground floor)
and residential property located above, below or adjacent.
NOISE CONTROL OFFICER
Shall mean an employee of: (1) 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 (2) a municipality with a department approved noise
control ordinance and the employee has received noise enforcement
training and is currently certified in noise enforcement. The employee
must be acting within his or her designated jurisdiction and must
be authorized to issue a summons in order to be considered a noise
control officer.
PRIVATE RIGHT-OF-WAY
Shall mean any street, avenue, boulevard, road, highway,
sidewalk, alley or easement that is owned, leased, or controlled by
a nongovernmental entity.
PUBLIC RIGHT-OF-WAY
Shall mean any street, avenue, boulevard, road, highway,
sidewalk, alley or easement that is owned, leased, or controlled by
a governmental entity.
PUBLIC SPACE
Shall mean any real property or structures thereon that are
owned, leased, or controlled by a governmental entity.
REAL PROPERTY LINE
Shall mean either (a) the imaginary line including its vertical
extension that separates one parcel of real property from another;
(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 interface 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).
WEEKDAY
Shall mean 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
Shall mean beginning on Friday at 6:00 p.m. and ending on
the following Monday at 7:00 a.m.
[Ord. No. BH:02-61 § III]
Whereas excessive sound is a serious hazard to the public health,
welfare, safety, and the quality of life; and
Whereas a substantial body of science and technology exists
by which excessive sound may be substantially abated; and,
Whereas the people have a right to, and should be ensured of,
an environment free from excessive sound,
Now therefore, it is the policy of the Branchburg Township Board
of Health to prevent excessive sound that may jeopardize the health,
welfare, or safety of the citizens or degrade the quality of life.
This chapter shall apply to the control of sound originating
from sources within Branchburg Township.
[Ord. No. BH:02-61 § VII; Ord. No. BH:2015-72]
a. Violation of any provision of this chapter shall be cause for an
enforcement document to be issued to the violator by the noise control
officer according to procedures set forth in N.J.A.C. 7:29-1.6. The
recipient of an enforcement document shall be entitled to a hearing
in Municipal Court having jurisdiction to contest such action.
b. Any person who violates any provision of this ordinance shall be
subject to a civil penalty for each offense of not more than the maximum
penalty allowed pursuant to N.J.S.A. 40:49-5, which is $2,000 as of
December 2014. If the violation is of a continuing nature, each day
during which it occurs shall constitute an additional, separate, and
distinct offense.
c. If the violation is deemed by the Noise Control Officer or Noise
Control Investigator to be a non-minor violation, the violator shall
be notified that if the violation is not immediately corrected, a
Notice of Penalty Assessment (NOPA) with a civil penalty of not more
than the maximum penalty allowed pursuant to N.J.S.A. 40:49-5, which
is $2,000 as of December 2014. If a non-minor violation is immediately
corrected a Notice of Violation (NOV) without a civil penalty shall
be issued to document the violation. If the violation occurs again
(within 12 months of the initial violation) a NOPA shall be issued
regardless of whether the violation is immediately corrected or not.
d. The provision of this chapter shall be construed to impair any common
law or statutory cause of action, or legal remedy therefrom, of any
person for injury or damage arising from any violation of this chapter
or from other law.
[Ord. No. BH:02-61 § VIII]
a. If any provision of portion of a provision of this chapter is held
to be unconstitutional, preempted by Federal or State law, or otherwise
invalid by any court of competent jurisdiction, the remaining provisions
of the chapter shall not be invalidated.
b. All ordinances or parts of ordinances which are inconsistent with
any provisions of this chapter are hereby repealed as to the extent
of such inconsistencies.