[Amended 11-21-1995 by Ord. No. 1846-95]
This article shall be known as the "Noise and
Disorderly Conduct Code" of Cheltenham Township.
As used in this article, the following terms
shall have the meanings indicated:
CONSUMER FIREWORKS
[Added 3-28-2018 by Ord.
No. 2365-18]
A.
Any combustible or explosive composition or any substance or
combination of substances which is intended to produce visible or
audible effects by combustion, is suitable for use by the public,
complies with the construction, performance, composition and labeling
requirements promulgated by the Consumer Products Safety Commission
in 16 CFR (relating to commercial practices) or any successor regulation
and complies with the provisions for "Consumer Fireworks" as defined
in APA 87-1 (The American Pyrotechnics Association's Standard 87-1:
Standard for Construction and Approval for Transportation of Fireworks,
Novelties, and Theatrical Pyrotechnics, 2001 Edition, or any subsequent
edition) or any successor standard, the sale, possession and use of
which are permitted throughout the Commonwealth.
B.
The term does not include devices such as "ground and hand-held
sparkling devices," "novelties" or "toy caps" identified in APA 87-1
or any successor standard, the sale, possession and use of which are
permitted at all times throughout the Commonwealth.
DISASTER
Includes but is not limited to actual or threatened enemy
attack, sabotage, extraordinary fire, flood, storm, epidemic or other
impending or actual calamity endangering or threatening to endanger
health, life or property or constituted government.
DISORDERLY CONDUCT
A person is guilty of disorderly conduct if, with intent
to cause public inconvenience, annoyance or alarm, or recklessly creating
a risk thereof, he/she:
A.
Engages in fighting or threatening, or in violent
or tumultuous behavior.
C.
Uses obscene language or makes an obscene gesture.
D.
Creates a hazardous or physically offensive
condition by any act which serves no legitimate purpose of the actor.
E.
Uses consumer fireworks within Cheltenham Township between the
hours of 10:00 p.m. and 8:00 a.m., prevailing time; provided, however,
that consumer fireworks may be used within Cheltenham Township on
December 31 between 11:45 p.m. and 12:15 a.m. on January 1, prevailing
time.
[Added 3-28-2018 by Ord.
No. 2365-18]
EMERGENCY VEHICLE
A Fire Department vehicle, police vehicle, sheriff vehicle,
ambulance, blood-delivery vehicle, armed forces emergency vehicle,
one vehicle operated by a Coroner or Chief County Medical Examiner
and one vehicle operated by a Chief Deputy Coroner or Deputy Chief
County Medical Examiner used for answering emergency calls, or any
other vehicle designated by the State Police under Section 6106 of
the Vehicles Code, or a privately owned vehicle used in answering an emergency
call when used by any of the following:
A.
A Police Chief and Assistant Chief.
B.
A Fire Chief, Assistant Chief and, when a fire
company has three or more fire vehicles, a Second or Third Assistant
Chief.
C.
A Fire Police Captain and Fire Police Lieutenant.
D.
An ambulance corps commander and assistant commander.
E.
A River Rescue Commander and Assistant Commander.
F.
A County Emergency Management Coordinator.
EMERGENCY WORK
Work made necessary to restore property to a safe condition
following a disaster or work required to protect persons or property
from imminent exposure to danger.
LICENSED MOTOR VEHICLE
Any properly licensed mechanical equipment such as but not
limited to passenger cars, trucks, truck trailers, semitrailers, campers,
motorcycles, minibikes, go-carts, snowmobiles, amphibious craft on
land, dune buggies or racing vehicles.
MUFFLER
Any apparatus consisting of baffles, chambers or acoustical
absorbing materials, whose primary purpose is to transmit liquids
or gases while causing a reduction in sound emission.
NOISE DISTURBANCE
Any sound which annoys, disturbs or perturbs reasonable persons
with normal sensitivities; or any sound which injures or endangers
the comfort, repose, health, hearing, peace or safety of other persons.
NONCOMMERCIAL USE
Any not-for-profit use, religious, institutional or public
government activity that has no underlying profit motive attached
to its function.
PERSON
Includes the singular and the plural and also means and includes
any person, owner, tenant, firm, corporation, association, club, partnership,
society or any other form of association.
SOUND-AMPLIFYING EQUIPMENT
Any machine or device for the amplification of the human
voice, music or any other sound. "Sound-amplifying equipment," as
used herein, shall not be construed as including standard automobile
radios when used and heard only by occupants of the vehicle in which
installed, nor warning devices on authorized emergency vehicles nor
horns or other warning devices on other vehicles and only for traffic
safety purposes.
SOUND TRUCK
Any licensed vehicle which has mounted thereon or attached
thereto any sound-amplifying equipment.
TOWNSHIP
Cheltenham Township, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania.
Noncommercial use of sound trucks in the Township
of Cheltenham with sound-amplifying equipment in operation shall be
strictly in accordance with the following regulations:
A. The only sounds to be permitted shall be music and
human speech.
B. Operation shall be prohibited on Sunday and upon any
other day of the week before 9:00 a.m. and after 5:00 p.m.
C. Sound-amplifying equipment shall not be operated unless
the sound truck upon which such equipment is mounted is operated at
a speed of at least 10 miles per hour, except that when said truck
is stopped by traffic, said sound-amplifying equipment shall not be
operated for longer than one minute at such stop.
D. Sound-amplifying equipment shall not be operated within
300 feet of any hospital or school.
E. The human speech and the music amplified through such
sound-amplifying device shall not be profane, lewd or indecent.
F. The volume of sound shall be controlled so that it
will not be audible for a distance in excess of 100 yards from the
sound truck and so that the volume is not unreasonably loud, raucous,
jarring, disturbing or a nuisance to persons within the area of audibility.
It shall be the duty of the Township Police
Department to enforce the provisions of this article, and they are
hereby given the power and authority to do so.
[Amended 11-21-1995 by Ord. No. 1846-95; 9-21-2022 by Ord. No. 2445-22]
Any person, association, club, society, firm, partnership, company,
corporation or body politic violating any of the provisions of this
article shall, upon conviction before any Magisterial District Justice,
be guilty of a summary offense and shall be required to pay a fine
not exceeding $1,000 and costs of prosecution, including reasonable
attorneys' fees. Each and every day on which any person, association,
club, society, firm, partnership, company, corporation or body politic
shall be in violation of this article shall constitute a separate
offense.