[HISTORY: Adopted by the Board of Supervisors of the Township
of Lower Windsor as indicated in article histories. Amendments noted
where applicable.]
[Adopted 5-9-2019 by Ord.
No. 2019-01]
The purpose of this article is to regulate noise levels that
result from agritainment and agritourism activities, as hereinafter
defined.
As used in this article, the following terms shall have the
meanings indicated:
Any of the following when transported in commerce, intended
to be transported in commerce, or traded in commerce:
Agricultural, aquacultural, horticultural, floricultural, viticultural,
or dairy products.
Livestock and the products of livestock.
Ranch-raised fur-bearing animals and the products of ranch-raised
fur-bearing animals.
The products of poultry or bee raising.
Forestry and forestry products.
Any products raised or produced on farms intended for human
consumption and the processed or manufactured products of such products
intended for human consumption.
The accessory utilization of farms, lands located in an Agricultural
District, or lands used for the production of "agricultural commodities"
(as defined in this article) regardless of the Zoning District in
which the land is located, for uses, other than normal agricultural
operations, that center on family-oriented entertainment, education,
and/or recreation with agricultural influence and focus. Such entertainment,
education, and/or recreation is directly related to agriculture, but
is clearly secondary and incidental to normal agricultural operations.
Examples of agritainment include, but are not limited to, corn mazes,
apple or pumpkin picking, hayrides, farm markets, event centers, wedding
venues, or wineries, that utilize or sell agricultural commodities
that are grown on site in furtherance of such entertainment, education,
and/or recreation.
Tourism that results from the presence of agritainment facilities
within a certain geographic region.
Any occurrence or set of circumstances involving actual,
or reasonably perceived, imminent physical or psychological trauma
or property damage which demands immediate action.
In addition to those unlawful noises prohibited in § 281-3C of this article, any sound which:
The activities, practices, equipment, and procedures that
farmers adopt, use, or engage in the production and preparation for
market of poultry, livestock, and their products, and in the production,
harvesting, and preparation for market or use of agricultural, agronomic,
horticultural, silvicultural, and aquacultural crops and commodities.
The term includes new activities, practices, equipment, and procedures
consistent with technological development within the agricultural
industry. Use of equipment shall include machinery designed and used
for agricultural operations, including, but not limited to crop dryers,
feed grinders, saw mills, hammer mills, refrigeration equipment, bins,
and related equipment used to store or prepare crops for marketing
and those items of agricultural equipment and machinery defined by
the Act of the Pennsylvania State Legislature of December 12, 1994,
known as the "Farm Safety and Occupational Health Act" (3 P.S. § 1901).
Custom work shall be considered a normal farming practice.
Every natural person, association, partnership, limited liability
company, corporation, or entity of any kind.
Any sound that can be detected by a person of normal sensitivities
using his or her unaided hearing faculties.
An imaginary line drawn through the points of contact of
adjoining lands, apartments, condominiums, townhouses, and duplexes
owned, rented, or leased by different persons; a demarcation or a
line of separate properties and, also, for any two or more buildings
sharing common grounds, the line drawn midway between any two such
buildings. All areas devoted to public rights-of-way shall be deemed
to be across the property line. For the purpose of this definition,
the "property line" includes all points on a plane formed by projecting
the property line in a manner deemed appropriate by the Enforcement
Officer.
Lower Windsor Township, York County, Pennsylvania.
A.
Except as otherwise provided in this article, it shall be unlawful
for any owner, operator, manager, or employee of an agritainment or
agritourism property or facility to make, cause to be made, or allow
to be made any noise disturbance in, on, or from, any agritainment
or agritourism property or facility located in the Township that is
not a direct result of "normal agricultural operations" as defined
above.
B.
Except as otherwise provided in this article, it shall be unlawful
for any entertainment or musical professional, disc jockey, singer,
solo-artist, or band operating or performing on or in any agritainment
or agritourism property or facility to make or cause to be made any
noise disturbance in, on, or from, any agritainment or agritourism
property or facility located in the Township. Any owner, operator,
or manager overseeing agritourism or agritainment activities, during
which any entertainment or musical professional, disc jockey, singer,
solo-artist, or band is performing, shall ensure such entertainment
or musical professional, disc jockey, singer, solo-artist, or band
is aware of this article prior to any performance.
C.
In addition to the foregoing, it shall also be unlawful for any owner,
operator, or manager of an agritainment or agritourism property or
facility to create, assist in creating, or permit any of the following
acts, which are specifically declared to be noise disturbances and,
therefore, in violation of this article:
(1)
The use of sound equipment, amplifiers, speakers, musical instruments, or similar devices which produces, reproduces, or amplifies sounds, at any time in such a manner as to cause a "noise disturbance," as defined in § 281-2 of this article, across a property line (boundary).
(2)
The use of sound equipment, amplifiers, speakers, musical instruments,
or similar devices which produces, reproduces, or amplifies sounds,
between the hours of 9:00 p.m. and 10:00 a.m. Sunday through Thursday,
and 10:00 p.m. and 10:00 a.m. on Friday and Saturday, so as to be
plainly audible beyond the property line (boundary) of any agritainment
or agritourism facility from which such sounds are generated.
(3)
Continuous or repeated yelling, shouting, loud whistling, loud hand clapping, or loud singing, at any time in such a manner as to cause a "noise disturbance," as defined in § 281-2 of this article, across a property line (boundary).
(4)
Continuous or repeated yelling, shouting, loud whistling, loud hand
clapping, or loud singing, between the hours of 9:00 p.m. and 10:00
a.m. Sunday through Thursday, and 10:00 p.m. and 10:00 a.m. on Friday
and Saturday, so as to be plainly audible beyond the property line
(boundary) of any agritainment or agritourism facility from which
such sounds are generated.
(5)
Explosives, fireworks, pyrotechnics, or other similar devices, used
as part of events, festivities, ceremonies, or celebrations occurring
on or in any agritainment or agritourism property or facility located
in the Township between the hours of 9:00 p.m. and 10:00 a.m. Sunday
through Thursday, and 10:00 p.m. and 10:00 a.m. on Friday and Saturday.
A.
This article shall only apply to those activities, events, ceremonies,
or celebrations occurring as part of agritainment or agritourism operations.
Nothing in this article shall in any way restrict "normal agricultural
operations," as defined above.
B.
Nothing in this article shall prohibit or limit the use of sound
equipment, amplifiers, speakers, or similar devices which produces,
reproduces, or amplifies sounds, or explosives, fireworks, pyrotechnics,
or other similar devices, when used as part of normal agricultural
operations, including, but not limited to, control of nuisance animals,
birds, or rodents.
C.
Nothing in this article shall prohibit anything that would otherwise
be considered a noise disturbance when the noise disturbance results
because of an emergency situation.
A.
This article may be enforced by the Lower Windsor Township Police
Department or by the Lower Windsor Township Enforcement Officer.
B.
Any person who shall violate any provision of this article shall,
upon conviction thereof, be sentenced to pay a fine of $75 for a first
offense, not less than $250 nor more than $500 for a second offense,
and not less than $500 nor more than $1,000 for a third and subsequent
offense in any one-hundred-eighty-day period. In default of payment,
a violator of this article shall be sentenced to a term of imprisonment
not to exceed 10 days. All prosecutions shall be brought before the
Magisterial District Judge having jurisdiction of summary violations
that occur within Lower Windsor Township.
[Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General
Provisions, Art. I)]
C.
Any owner, operator, or manager overseeing agritourism or agritainment
activities during which any entertainment or musical professional,
disc jockey, singer, solo-artist, or band is performing, who fails
to ensure such entertainment or musical professional, disc jockey,
singer, solo-artist, or band is aware of the provisions of this article
may be found guilty of both failure to inform such entertainment or
musical professional, disc jockey, singer, solo-artist, or band of
the provisions of this article as well as allowing to be made a noise
disturbance in, on, or from, an agritainment or agritourism property
or facility.
All provisions of this article are applicable in addition to,
and in accordance with, any and all provisions set forth in Pennsylvania
state law or administrative regulation, including but not limited
to food preparation and safety and alcoholic beverage regulations,
and any fire code or other rule or regulation duly adopted by the
Township.
If any provision of this article should conflict with provisions
of Pennsylvania state law, administrative regulation, the state law
or regulation shall prevail.
All ordinances or parts of ordinances that are inconsistent
herewith are hereby repealed.
If any sentence, clause, section, or part of this article is,
for any reason, found to be unconstitutional, illegal, or invalid,
such unconstitutionality, illegality, or invalidity shall not affect
or impair any of the remaining provisions, sentences, clauses, sections,
or parts of this article. It is hereby declared as the intent of the
Board of Supervisors of Lower Windsor Township that this article would
have been adopted had such unconstitutional, illegal, or invalid sentence,
clause, section, or part thereof not been included herein.
This article shall be effective five days after enactment.
