[HISTORY: Adopted by the Mayor and Council of the Town of Chesapeake City 3-9-2009 by Ord. No. 1-1-2009. Amendments noted where applicable.]
As used in this chapter, the following terms shall have the meanings indicated:
DAYTIME HOURS
From 7:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m., local time.
DECIBEL (dB)
A unit of measure equal to 10 times the logarithm to the base 10 of the ratio of the square of the sound pressure to the square of a standard reference pressure. For the purpose of this chapter, 20 micropascals shall be the standard reference pressure. When sound pressure is measured in decibels, it is called "sound pressure level," or more commonly, "sound level." This chapter uses a commonly applied A-weighted sound level (dBA).
EVENING HOURS
From 10:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m., local time.
NOISE
The intensity, frequency, duration, and character of sound.
PERSON
Any individual, group of individuals, firm, corporation, limited liability company, or partnership.
It shall be unlawful to make or produce noise associated with daytime activities between the hours of 10:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m. Prohibited activities include but are not limited to construction and demolition, loading and unloading of materials, and domestic power tools.
A. 
Any person or business establishment that produces or reproduces sound or music in the open air within the corporate boundaries of the Town where the occurrence of such sound or music is more than once a month, or the duration thereof exceeds a period of six hours, shall first obtain a permit from the Town. Permits shall be issued for weekly or quarterly intervals. Permit fees shall be established by the Mayor and Council by resolution.
B. 
No person or business establishment shall use, operate, play, or permit the use, operation, or playing of any musical instrument, loudspeaker, or sound amplifier or other machine or device for producing or reproducing sound or music outside or in the open air during the following times:
(1) 
From 10:00 p.m. through 7:00 a.m., Sunday through Thursday; and
(2) 
From 11:00 p.m. through 7:00 a.m., Friday and Saturday.
C. 
Any person failing to obtain a permit based on the conditions of this chapter shall be subject to penalties as described in § 181-5 of this chapter.
When measured at the boundary line of the complainant, the A-weighted sound level of any open-air noise, sound or music shall not exceed 57 dBA during daytime hours and shall not exceed 55 dBA during evening hours.
A. 
A person who violates any provision of this chapter shall be guilty of a municipal infraction punishable by a fine of $500 for the first offense and $1,000 for each subsequent offense. Each day a violation occurs or continues shall be a separate offense or violation of this chapter. The Town may deny the issuance of any permit required under § 181-3 hereof if such person, business establishment or property source of the violation has had three or more violations in any calendar year.
[Amended 5-22-2023 by Ord. No. 2023-003]
B. 
In addition to the above, a violation of any provision of this chapter by any person or business establishment required to obtain a permit as provided under § 181-3 above shall constitute a violation of the terms of such permit. The Town shall, upon a first violation, issue a written warning notice to the violator indicating the date, time and nature of the violation of the terms of the permit; shall, upon a second violation of the terms of the permit, suspend the permit of the violator for a period of one calendar week beginning at the time of the notice; and shall, upon a third violation of the terms of the permit, suspend or revoke the permit of the violator for the remainder of the permit period. The Town may deny the renewal or issuance of a permit for repeat violations of this chapter.
C. 
The above remedies are in addition to and not instead of an action for injunctive relief on behalf of the Town.
D. 
In any citation, legal proceeding, notice of violation of the terms of the permit, or any other alleged violation of this chapter, the quantities of noise shall be measured with a Type 2 or Class 2 sound-level meter as specified in ANSI SI.4-1983 or IEC 60804-2000 using FAST time weighting, A-frequency weighting, and MAXIMUM mode, if available.
The provisions of this chapter shall not apply to the following:
A. 
Devices used solely for the purpose of warning, protecting, or alerting the public, or some segment thereof, of the existence of an emergency or hazardous situation;
B. 
Fire or rescue station alerting devices;
C. 
The use of bells, chimes or sound amplifiers by churches engaged in religious activities during daytime hours;
D. 
Household tools and portable appliances in normal usage during daytime hours;
E. 
Construction and repair work performed during daytime hours;
F. 
Lawn care during daytime hours when used and maintained in accordance with the manufacturer's specifications;
G. 
Snow removal and emergency road, water or sewer repair equipment;
H. 
Emergency operations;
I. 
Trash collection operations during daytime hours; and
J. 
Air-conditioning or heat pump equipment used to heat or cool commercial and residential properties.