City of West Lake Hills, TX BUSINESS AND RESIDENTIAL PERFORMANCE STANDARDS

Any business or residential use permitted by right, or by special use permit in any district shall not be conducted in a manner as to emit any dangerous, noxious, injurious, or otherwise objectionable fire, explosion, radioactivity, or other hazard; noise or other vibration; smoke, dust, odor or other form of environmental pollution; electrical or other disturbance; glare; liquid or solid refuse or wastes; conditions conducive to the breeding of insects, rodents, or other substances, conditions or elements in an amount as to affect adversely the surrounding environment. In cases where the city has reasons to believe that these standards are being violated, the city may obtain professional assistance to test the environmental impacts of the land use. All costs associated with this professional review shall be borne by the land owner of the property in question. In meeting these objectives, the following standards apply:

(1)

Vibration.

No vibration shall be produced which is transmitted through the ground and is discernible without the aid of instruments at, or any point beyond, the lot line; nor shall any vibration produced exceed 0.002g peak measured at, or any point beyond, the lot line using either seismic or electronic vibration measuring equipment.

(2)

Noise.

Maximum permissible sound pressure levels at the lot line for noise radiated continuously from a facility between the hours of 7:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m.

TABLE A
Frequency Band (Hertz) Cycles per Sound	Sound Pressure Levels (decibels*) Decibels re 0.002 dyne/cm-2
20–75	60
75–150	51
150–300	43
300–600	37
600–1,200	32
1,200–2,400	30
2,400–4,800	28
4,800–10,000	27

*Reference: 0.0002 dynes/cm-2

The values listed above correspond to a value of “30” according to Noise Criterion (NC) Curves [Beranek, L.L. (1960) Noise Reduction. New York: McGraw-Hill Book Co.]

If the noise is not smooth and continuous and not radiated between the hours of 7:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m., one or more of the corrections in table B shall be added or subtracted from each of the decibel levels above.

TABLE B
Type of Operation	Correction in Character of Noise Decibels
Daytime operation only	plus 5
Noise source operates less than 20 percent of any one-hour period	plus 5*
Noise source operates less than five percent of any one-hour period	plus 10*
Noise source operates less than one percent of any one-hour period	plus 15*
Noise of impulsive character (hammering, etc.)	minus 5
Noise of period character (hum, speech, etc.)	minus 5

*Apply one of these corrections only.

All noise shall be muffled so as not to be objectionable due to intermittence, beat frequency or shrillness. In no event shall the sound-pressure level of noise radiated continuously from a facility at nighttime exceed at the lot line the values given in table A in any octave band of frequency. However, where the lot line adjoins or lies within 25 feet of the boundary or a residential district, or a residential lot, the sound pressure levels of noise radiated at night shall not exceed at the lot line the values given in table A in any octave bank of frequency. The sound-pressure shall be measured with a sound level meter and octave band analyzer.

(3)

Air pollution.

Atmospheric emission of gaseous or particulate matter generated by any land use shall conform to the then current regulations of the state commission on environmental quality. If the proposed land use shall be of a nature to arouse the concern of the city, the applicant may be required to produce plans and specifications of detail sufficient for review by the state commission on environmental quality. That potential exists for emissions in excess of allowable limits shall be grounds for permit refusal.

(4)

Nuisance odors.

There shall be no emission of toxic or noxious matter of objectionable odors of any kind in such quantities as to be readily detectable at any property line of the lot on which the use emitting the toxic or noxious material or odor is located. For the purposes of this article, toxic or noxious matter is any solid, liquid, or gaseous matter, including but not limited to gases, vapors, dusts, fumes and mists, containing properties which by chemical or other means are:

(A)

Inherently harmful and likely to destroy life or impair health; or

(B)

Capable of causing injury to the wellbeing of persons or damage to property.

(5)

Fire and explosion.

All activities and all storage involving flammable and explosive materials at any point shall be provided with adequate firefighting and fire-suppression devices and equipment.

(6)

Radioactive materials.

The handling of radioactive materials, the discharge of such materials into the air, water, or sewage system and the disposal of radioactive wastes shall be in conformance with regulations of the Atomic Energy Commission as set forth in title 10, chapter 1, part 20, Standards for Protection Against Radiation, as amended; and all applicable regulations of the state and the city.

(7)

Nonradioactive liquid or solid wastes.

There shall be no discharge at any point into any public or private sewage disposal system or stream, or into the ground, of any liquid or solid materials except in accordance with the regulations of the city, the county health department, and the department of state health services.

(8)

Electromagnetic radiation.

It shall be unlawful to operate, or cause to be operated, any planned or intentional source of electromagnetic radiation for such purposes as electrical power transmission or distribution, communication, experimentation, entertainment, broadcasting, heating, navigation, therapy, vehicle velocity measurement, weather survey, aircraft detection, topographical survey, personal pleasure, or any other use directly or indirectly associated with these purposes which are in conflict with the standards of this article and other city ordinances or Federal Communications Commission regarding such sources of electromagnetic radiation. High voltage electric transmission or distribution lines are limited to a maximum of three-phase, 69,000 volts (69 KVA) total capacity within 1,000 feet, measured horizontally from source, of any business, school, church or residential structure.

(9)

Heat and glare.

(A)

Except for approved exterior lighting, operations producing heat or glare shall be conducted entirely within an enclosed building. Glare shall be shielded in such a way that it will not be detectable at the lot line or public rights-of-way.

(B)

Exterior lighting, including but not necessarily limited to lighting of exterior walls of buildings from an external light source, lighting of parking areas, and lighting of walks and drives, shall be done in such a manner as to direct light away from adjacent lots and public ways.

(10)

Insects and rodents.

All materials, including wastes, and all grounds and buildings shall be kept in a manner which will not attract or aid the propagation of insects or rodents creating a health hazard.

(11)

Wastes and refuse.

No waste material or refuse shall be dumped upon or permitted to remain upon any part of the lot outside of buildings constructed thereon. Waste material or refuse stored outside buildings shall be placed in completely enclosed containers.

(12)

Water pollution.

The use and discharge of substances into lakes, creeks, streams, dry creek beds, or similar water bodies or sources shall not violate the rules and regulations of the city, the state commission on environmental quality or the standards of the department of state health services.

(1996 Code, sec. 34-1(c))