[HISTORY: Adopted by the City Council of
the City of Cape May as indicated in article histories. Amendments
noted where applicable.]
GENERAL REFERENCES
Unfit buildings — See Ch. 173.
Outdoor burning — See Ch. 177.
Dumping — See Ch. 228.
Enforcement of health regulations — See Ch. 284.
Littering — See Ch. 314.
Noise — See Ch. 340.
Peace and good order — See Ch. 373.
Property maintenance — See Ch. 390.
Solid waste; recycling — See Ch. 434.
[Adopted as Sec. 9-4 of the 1997 Revised
General Ordinances]
A code defining and prohibiting certain matters,
things, conditions or acts and each of them as a nuisance, prohibiting
certain noises or sounds, requiring the proper heating of apartments,
prohibiting lease or rental of certain buildings, prohibiting spitting
in or upon public buildings, conveyances or sidewalks, authorizing
the inspection of premises by an enforcing official, providing for
the removal or abatement of certain nuisances and recovery of expenses
incurred by the Code Enforcement Officer in removing or abating such
nuisances and prescribing penalties for violations is hereby established
pursuant to N.J.S.A. 26:3-69.1 et seq. A copy of the code is annexed
to this article and made a part of it without the inclusion of the
text.
The code established and adopted by this article
is described and commonly known as the "Public Health Nuisance Code
of New Jersey" (current edition).
Three copies of the Public Health Nuisance Code
of New Jersey (current edition) have been placed on file in the office
of the City Clerk for the use and examination of the public.
[Adopted 3-20-2007 by Ord. No. 92-2007[1]]
[1]
Editor's Note: These provisions were originally
adopted as Ch. 341 but were included herein to maintain the organization
of the Code.
It shall be unlawful for any person to make,
continue to make, permit or cause to be made or continued, any loud,
excessive, unnecessary or unusually loud noise or any noise which
either annoys, disturbs, injures or endangers the comfort, repose,
health, peace or safety of reasonable persons of normal sensitivities.
Furthermore, it shall be unlawful for any person who has custody and
control of the premises to allow or permit another person to make,
continue, or permit to be made or continued, any loud, excessive,
unnecessary or unusually loud noise or any noise which either annoys,
disturbs, injures or endangers the comfort, repose, health, peace
or safety of others within the limits of the City.
For the purpose of this article, the following
persons shall be presumed to be in custody and control:
For the purpose of this article, the following
terms shall have the meanings indicated:
Any vehicle that is propelled other than by human or animal
power on land.
Any building comprising two or more dwelling units, including
but not limited to apartments, condominiums, co-ops, multiple-family
houses, townhouses, and attached residences.
Any distinct parcel of land that is used for more than one
category of activity.
Any sound that can be detected by a person using his or her
unaided hearing faculties. As an example, if the sound source under
investigation is a portable or personal vehicular sound amplification
or reproduction device, the detection of the rhythmic bass component
of the music is sufficient to verify plainly audible sound. The title,
specific words, or the artist performing the song need not be determined.
A specific dwelling unit.
Any street, avenue, boulevard, road, highway, sidewalk, alley
or easement that is owned, leased, or controlled by a nongovernmental
entity.
Any street, avenue, boulevard, road, highway, sidewalk, alley
or easement that is owned, leased, or controlled by a governmental
entity.
Any real property or structures thereon that are owned, leased,
or controlled by a governmental entity.
Either
The imaginary line, including its vertical extension,
that separates one parcel of real property from another;
The vertical and horizontal boundaries of a
dwelling unit that are part of a multidwelling unit building; or
On a multi-use property, the interface between
the two portions of the property on which different categories of
activity are being performed (e.g., if the multi-use property is a
building which is residential upstairs and commercial downstairs,
then the real property line would be the interface between the residential
area and the commercial area).
Any day that is not a federal holiday, and beginning on Monday
at 8:00 a.m. and ending on the following Friday at 6:00 p.m.
Beginning on Friday at 6:00 p.m. and ending on the following
Monday at 8:00 a.m.
The following acts, among others, are declared
to be loud, disturbing and unnecessary noises in violation of this
article, but such enumeration shall not be deemed to be exclusive,
namely:
A.
Sound reproduction systems. Operating, playing or
permitting the operation or playing of any radio, television, stereo
or similar device that reproduces or amplifies sound in such a manner
as to create a noise disturbance for any person other than the operator
of the device. After 11:00 p.m., such noise plainly audible at a distance
of 50 feet from the structure or vehicle in which it is located shall
be prima facie evidence of a violation of this article.
B.
The use of outdoor sound amplifiers shall be confined
to an immediate area in such a way that they will not disturb anyone
outside the real property lines of the place where the sound amplifiers
are located.
C.
Bands, combos, orchestras and like musical groups
or recorded music being played shall not be played in such a manner
or with such volume as to annoy or disturb the quiet, comfort, or
health of any persons across a real property line, or on any public
right-of-way, private right-of-way, nor shall they be played with
such volume or in such manner as to attract congregations of persons
outside the commercial establishments or residential area in which
they are playing, thereby congesting the public right-of-way.
D.
All such commercial establishments having live or
recorded music or entertainment shall close all doors and windows
in the establishment in order to confine the sound produced to the
establishment. It shall be prima facie evidence of a violation of
this article if the noise emanating from the commercial establishment
is plainly audible 50 feet from the place where it emanates.
E.
Animals. Owning, possessing or harboring any pet animal
that frequently or for continued duration makes sounds that create
a noise disturbance across a residential real property line (for the
purpose of this section, a "noise disturbance from a barking dog"
shall be defined as that created by a dog barking continually for
10 minutes or intermittently for 30 minutes, unless provoked).
F.
Horns and emergency sirens. The sounding of any horn
in any motor vehicle, except as a warning of danger, and the permitting
of an emergency siren from a home or motor vehicle to continue for
a period in excess of 15 minutes.
G.
Loading and unloading. Loading, unloading from structures
or motor vehicles, opening, closing or other handling of boxes, crates,
containers, building materials, garbage cans or similar objects between
the hours of 10:00 p.m. and 8:00 a.m. the following day in such a
manner as to cause a noise disturbance across a residential real property
boundary, with the exception of building material which shall be delivered
between 8:00 a.m. and 8:00 p.m.
B.
Any person who is convicted of violating this article
within one year of the date of a previous violation of this article,
and who was fined for the previous violation, shall be sentenced to
an additional fine as a repeat offender. The additional fine shall
not exceed the maximum fine for a violation of the article, but shall
be calculated separately from the fine imposed for the violation of
the article.
C.
Any violation
of this article constitutes a breach of the peace.
[Added 7-3-2023 by Ord. No. 504-2023]
