[HISTORY: Adopted by the Board of Trustees
of the Village of Westhampton Beach as indicated in article histories.
Amendments noted where applicable.]
[Adopted 5-11-1962 by Ord. No. 35; amended in
its entirety 3-16-1968]
[Amended 2-1-2007 by L.L. No. 3-2007]
The making, creation or maintenance of such
loud, unnecessary, unnatural or unusual noises as are prolonged, unusual
and unnatural in their time, place and use affects and is a detriment
to the public health, comfort, convenience, safety, welfare, peace
and quiet and property of the residents of the Village of Westhampton
Beach, and the necessity in the public interest for the provisions
and prohibitions hereinafter contained and enacted is declared as
a matter of legislative determination, and it is further declared
that the provisions and prohibitions hereinafter contained and enacted
are in pursuance of and for the purpose of securing and promoting
the public health, comfort, convenience, safety, welfare, property
and the peace and quiet of the Village of Westhampton Beach and its
inhabitants. This chapter shall be liberally construed so as to effectuate
the purposes described herein. Nothing herein shall be construed to
abridge the emergency powers of any Village department or the right
of such department to engage in any necessary or proper activities.
The creation or maintenance of unreasonably
loud, disturbing and unnecessary noise which either annoys, disturbs,
injures or endangers the comfort, repose, health, peace or safety
of others is prohibited.
The following acts, among others, are declared
to be such loud, disturbing and unnecessary noises in violation of
this article, but said enumeration shall not be deemed to be exclusive,
namely:
A.
The operation of any radio, television receiver, phonograph
or the use of any musical instrument in such a manner or with such
volume so as to annoy or disturb the comfort, repose, health or sleep
of persons in the general area thereof. The operation or use of any
such set, instrument, phonograph or receiver between the hours of
11:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m. in such a manner as to be plainly audible
at a distance of 50 feet from the building, structure or vehicle in
which it is located shall be prima facie evidence of a violation of
this section.
B.
The sounding of any horn or signaling device on any
automobile or motorcycle on any street or public place, except as
a danger warning; the creation by means of any such signaling of any
unreasonably loud or harsh sound; and the sounding of any such device
for an unnecessary and unreasonable period of time.
C.
Yelling, shouting, whistling or singing on the public
streets or in any dwelling, hotel or other type of residence between
the hours of 11:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m. so as to annoy or disturb the
quiet, comfort or repose of persons in the general vicinity thereof.
D.
The using, operating or permitting to be played, used
or operated of any radio receiving set, musical instrument, phonograph,
loudspeaker, sound amplifier or other machine or device for the producing
or reproducing of sound which is cast upon the public streets for
the purpose of commercial advertising or attracting the attention
of the public unless a permit for such use or operation has been issued
by the Village of Westhampton Beach.
[Amended 2-1-2007 by L.L. No. 3-2007]
E.
The operation of any construction device or the performance
or engagement in construction work, building, demolition, excavating,
pile driving, hoisting, demolishing, dredging, hammering, or sawing
within the limits of the Village of Westhampton Beach, other than
between the hours of 7:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m. on Monday through Friday
and between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday,
except during the months of July and August, when none of the activities
set forth in this subsection shall be permitted on Sunday.
[Added 2-1-2007 by L.L. No. 3-2007]
F.
The operation of any equipment relating to the performance
or engagement in pile driving, or pneumatic hammering on Saturdays
and Sundays during the months of July and August.
[Added 2-1-2007 by L.L. No. 3-2007]
[Added 2-1-2007 by L.L. No. 3-2007[1]]
Following the receipt of a written request stating
the reason(s) for relief from the requirements of this article, the
Code Enforcement Officer (CEO) or Building Inspector (Inspector) of
the Village of Westhampton Beach, or his or her designee, may, for
a reasonable, limited time, grant such relief authorizing exact, though
different, time restraints. Such construction activities may be allowed
upon the applicant's demonstration of substantial hardship in meeting
the constraints of this article and upon a determination by the CEO
or Inspector that the public interest will be served by the granting
of the relief. The CEO or Inspector shall set any conditions, reservations
or stipulations deemed necessary in the interest of the public health,
safety or welfare at the time of granting any such relief. The written
authorization acquired from the CEO or Inspector must be maintained
on the site and be made available for viewing by any requesting municipal
authority.
[1]
Editor's Note: This local law also repealed
former § 110-4, Definitions.
[Added 2-1-2007 by L.L. No. 3-2007]
In the case of an emergency, so declared by
the CEO, Inspector, Westhampton Beach Fire District, a police department,
or any other federal, state, county or municipal department, construction
activities directly connected to the abatement of such emergency may
be undertaken without obtaining any relief from this article.
[Added 2-1-2007 by L.L. No. 3-2007]
In the issuance of the relief set forth herein,
the CEO or Inspector shall weigh all facts and circumstances and shall
determine whether the reasons given for the urgent necessity are valid
and reasonable, whether the public health, safety and ultimate convenience
will be protected or better served by granting the relief requested
and whether the manner and amount of loss or inconvenience to the
party in interest imposes a significant hardship.[1]
[Adopted 5-22-1981 by L.L. No. 8-1981]
As used in this article, the following terms
shall have the meanings indicated:
All engine- or motor-powered equipment intended for infrequent
service work in inhabited areas, typically requiring commercial or
skilled operators. Examples of "commercial service equipment" are
chain saws, log chippers, paving rollers, etc.
Any powered device or equipment, designed and intended for
use in construction. Examples of "construction devices" are air compressors,
bulldozers, backhoes, trucks, shovels, derricks and cranes.
The period between the hours of 7:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m. daily.
Decibel.
The A-weighted sound level in decibels, as measured by a
general purpose sound-level meter complying with the provisions of
the American National Standards Institute Specifications for Sound-Level
Meters (ANSI S1.4 1971), properly calibrated, and operated on the
A weighting network.
All engine- or motor-powered garden or maintenance tools
intended for repetitive use in residential areas, typically capable
of being used by a homeowner. Examples of "homeowner's light residential
outdoor equipment" are lawn mowers, garden tools, riding tractors,
snowblowers, snowplows, etc. Excluded from this list are gasoline-engine-powered
leaf blowers.
[Amended 2-1-2007 by L.L. No. 3-2007]
Hertz; equivalent to cycles per second.
The presence of that amount of acoustic energy for that amount
of time necessary to:
Cause temporary or permanent hearing loss in
persons exposed;
Otherwise be injurious, or tend to be, on the
basis of current information, injurious to the public health or welfare;
Cause a nuisance;
Interfere with the comfortable enjoyment of
life and property or the conduct of business; or
Exceed standards or restrictions established
herein.
All districts in Chapter 197, Zoning, of the Code of the Village of Westhampton Beach, except for those designated residential or multifamily residential.
An individual, partnership, association, firm, syndicate,
company, trust, corporation, department, bureau or agency or any other
entity recognized by law as the subject of rights and duties.
All districts which are designated as residential or multifamily residential in Chapter 197, Zoning, of the Code of the Village of Westhampton Beach.
[Amended 2-1-2007 by L.L. No. 3-2007]
No person or persons owning, leasing or occupying
any premises, or controlling the operation of any source or sources
of noise shall willfully, negligently or through failure to provide
necessary equipment or facilities or to take necessary precautions
permit the establishment of a condition of noise pollution.
This article shall apply to the use or occupancy
of any lot or structure thereon and to the noise produced thereby
but shall not apply to the following:
A.
The intermittent or occasional use, during the daytime,
of homeowner's light residential outdoor equipment or commercial service
equipment, provided that said equipment and its use complies with
the other provisions hereof.
B.
Construction activities and the associated use of
construction devices, nor to the noise produced thereby, provided
that such activities and such equipment and its use complies with
the other provisions hereof.
C.
The operation of any motor vehicle on any public way,
nor to the noise produced thereby, except if the noise produced thereby
causes a nuisance.
[Amended 3-14-1994 by L.L. No. 1-1994]
No person shall create or cause to be emitted from or by any source any noise which causes or results in a maximum noise level, measured at or beyond any lot line of any lot located in any residential zoning district on which said noise is being generated, in excess of any level of the residential zoning district noise standards set forth in § 110-10 hereof.
[Amended 3-14-1994 by L.L. No. 1-1994]
No person shall create or cause to be emitted from or by any source any noise which causes or results in a maximum noise level, measured at or beyond any lot line of any lot in any nonresidential zoning district on which said noise is being generated, in excess of any level of the nonresidential zoning district noise standards set forth in § 110-10 hereof.
[Added 2-1-2007 by L.L. No. 3-2007]
The use of gasoline-engine-powered leaf blowers
is prohibited on Sundays.
Noise standards referred to in this article
for the residential and nonresidential zoning districts of the Village
of Westhampton Beach are as established by the following table:
|
Table of Zoning District Noise Standards
Maximum Allowable Octave Band Sound-Pressure Levels
|
|
Octave Band Center Frequency of Measurement
(hertz)
|
Residential
|
Nonresidential
| ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Daytime
|
All Other Times
|
Daytime
|
All Other Times
| |
|
31.5
|
76 db
|
68 db
|
79 db
|
72 db
|
|
63
|
75 db
|
67 db
|
78 db
|
71 db
|
|
125
|
69 db
|
61 db
|
73 db
|
65 db
|
|
250
|
62 db
|
52 db
|
68 db
|
57 db
|
|
500
|
56 db
|
46 db
|
62 db
|
51 db
|
|
1,000
|
50 db
|
40 db
|
56 db
|
45 db
|
|
2,000
|
45 db
|
33 db
|
51 db
|
39 db
|
|
4,000
|
40 db
|
28 db
|
47 db
|
34 db
|
|
8,000
|
38 db
|
26 db
|
44 db
|
32 db
|
|
Single Number Equivalent
|
60 dBA
|
50 dBA
|
65 dBA
|
55 dBA
|
[Added 2-1-2007 by L.L. No. 3-2007]
The Zoning Board of Appeals and Planning Board
of the Village of Westhampton Beach shall have the authority to condition
any approval on a more, but not less, restrictive application of this
article if it is reasonable, and in the best interest of the residents
of the Village of Westhampton Beach as set forth under the standards
enunciated under this article.
[Amended 2-1-2007 by L.L. No. 3-2007]
Any person violating the provisions of this
article shall be guilty of a violation and subject to a fine not exceeding
$500 or imprisonment for not more than 15 days, or both a fine and
imprisonment.
In addition to any other remedy provided by
law, the Village may bring an injunction proceeding to enforce the
provisions of this article.
