[Ord. No. 193, 3/6/2024]
This Part shall be known as the "Upper Nazareth Township Noise
Ordinance."
[Ord. No. 193, 3/6/2024]
This Part is enacted pursuant to the Second Class Township Code.
[Ord. No. 193, 3/6/2024]
The purpose of this Part is to ensure that public health, safety
and welfare shall not be abridged by the making and creating of noise
pollution or of public nuisances from disturbing, excessive or offensive
noises in the Township. The residents of the Township recognize that
uncontrolled noise represents a danger to the health and welfare of
their neighbors and that each person in the community is entitled
to live in an environment in which the level of impulsive and amplified
noise is minimized for the community good. It is the purpose and scope
of this Part to provide regulations prohibiting offensive noise that
vehicles, appliances and equipment may generate, and to provide for
the prohibition of other kinds of offensive noises. These regulations
and prohibitions are intended to protect the physical, mental and
social well-being of the residents of Upper Nazareth Township.
[Ord. No. 193, 3/6/2024]
The following words and phrases, when used in this Part, shall
have, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise, the meanings
given to them in this section:
EXCESSIVE NOISE
Excessive noise is that sound which is: 1) injurious or which
unreasonably interferes with the comfortable enjoyment of life and
property; 2) annoying to a person of ordinary sensibilities.
IMPULSIVE SOUND
Sound of short duration, usually less than one second, with
an abrupt onset of rapid decay. Examples of impulsive sound include:
explosions, drop forge impacts, and the discharge of firearms.
NIGHT TIME
10:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m., prevailing time, conversely, day
time is 7:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m., prevailing time.
NOISE
Any sound emitted by a person, animal, appliance, equipment,
instrument, or other device which annoys or disturbs humans or which
causes or tends to cause an adverse psychological effect on humans.
NOISE CREATING DEVICE
Any electrical, mechanical, or chemical device or instrument
or combination thereof, that creates noise during its operation by
a person.
NOISE DISTURBANCE
Any sound which:
1.
Endangers, would endanger or is likely to endanger, or injures,
would injure or is likely to injure, the safety or health of humans
or animals;
2.
Annoys, would annoy or is likely to annoy, or disturb a reasonable
person of normal sensibilities;
3.
Endangers, would endanger, or is likely to injure, personal
or real property;
4.
Disturbs, or is likely to disturb, the peace; or
5.
Creates, would create, or is likely to create, a nuisance.
NOISE POLLUTION
Noise of such loudness and character from a single source
or from multiple sources, which is, or may be predicted with reasonable
certainty to be, injurious to health or which unreasonably interferes
with the enjoyment of property or with any lawful business or activity.
PERSON
Includes an individual, firm, association, organization,
partnership, trust, company, corporation or any other similar entity.
PROPERTY LINE BOUNDARY
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 area 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 plan formed by projecting
the property line in a manner deemed appropriate by the enforcing
police officer.
PUBLIC RIGHT-OF-WAY
Any street, avenue, boulevard, highway, sidewalk, alley,
or similar place which is owned or controlled by a government entity.
PUBLIC SPACE
Any real property or structures thereon which are owned or
controlled by a governmental entity.
REAL PROPERTY
All land, whether publicly or privately owned, whether improved
or not improved, with or without structures, exclusive of any areas
devoted to public rights-of-way.
SOUND
An oscillation in pressure, particle displacement, particle
velocity, or other physical parameter, in a medium with internal forces
that cause compression and rarefaction of that medium, or the superposition
of such propagated oscillation which evokes an auditory sensation.
The description of sound including duration, intensity and frequency.
TOWNSHIP
Township of Upper Nazareth, Northampton County, Pennsylvania.
VEHICLE
Any device, or combination of devices, used for or capable
of being used for transporting persons or property. Vehicles include,
but are not limited to, the following: automobiles, trucks, buses,
motorcycles, motorized bicycles, snowmobiles, scooters, all-terrain
vehicles, go-carts, racers, and life devices, farm machinery, industrial
machinery, highway graders, trailers, graders and semi-trailers.
[Ord. No. 193, 3/6/2024]
A temporary waiver from strict compliance with the noise standards
specified herein may be granted to persons during emergency circumstances,
as determined by the Board of Supervisors, to permit reasonable time
to effect repairs.
[Ord. No. 193, 3/6/2024]
It is the policy of the Board of Supervisors in adopting this
Part not to force any industrial or commercial enterprise out of business,
but rather to work with any industrial or commercial enterprise to
find ways to reduce noise levels to the level permitted by this Part.
[Ord. No. 193, 3/6/2024]
This Part may be enforced by any police officer.
[Ord. No. 193, 3/6/2024]
The provisions of this Part are not intended to interfere with,
abrogate or annul other rules, regulations or ordinances, including
Title 18 (Crimes Code) and Title 75 (Vehicle Code), Pennsylvania Consolidated
Statutes. If more stringent requirements concerning noise abatement
are contained in other statutes, rules, regulations or ordinances,
the more stringent regulation shall apply.
[Ord. No. 193, 3/6/2024]
Any person, firm or corporation who shall violate any provision
of this Part shall, upon conviction thereof, as a summary offense,
be sentenced to pay a fine of not more than $1,000; and in default
of payment, to imprisonment for a term not to exceed 30 days. Every
day that a violation of this Part continues shall constitute a separate
offense.