The Shippensburg Borough Council, finding that
excessive levels of sound are detrimental to the physical, mental
and social well-being of the residents, as well as to their comfort,
living conditions, general welfare and safety, and being therefore
a public health and welfare hazard, hereby declares it to be necessary
to provide for the greater control and more effective regulation of
excessive sound and the sources of excessive sound within the Borough
of Shippensburg.
The following words, terms and phrases, when
used in this chapter, shall have the meanings herein given, except
where the context clearly indicates a different meaning.
CONSTRUCTION OPERATION
The erection, repair, renovation, demolition or removal of
any building or structure; and the excavation, filling, grading and
regulation of lots in connection therewith.
EMERGENCY
Any occurrence or set of circumstances involving actual or
imminent physical trauma or property damage.
EMERGENCY WORK
Any work performed for the purpose of preventing or alleviating
the physical trauma or property damage threatened or caused by an
emergency.
IMPULSIVE SOUND
Sound of short duration, usually less than one second, with
an abrupt onset and rapid decay. Examples of impulsive sounds include
explosions, dropped forge impacts and discharge of firearms.
NOISE
Any sound which annoys or disturbs humans or which causes
or tends to cause an adverse psychological or physiological effect
on humans.
NOISE DISTURBANCE
Any noise which:
A.
Endangers or injures the safety or health of
humans or animals.
B.
Annoys or disturbs a reasonable person of normal
sensitivities.
C.
Endangers or injures personal or real property.
PERSON
Any individual, association, partnership or corporation,
and includes any officer, employee, department, agency or instrumentality
of a state or any political subdivision of a state. Whenever used
in any clause prescribing and imposing a penalty, "person" includes
the individual members, partners, officers and managers or any of
them of partnerships and associations, and as for corporations, the
officers and managers thereof or any of them.
POWERED MODEL VEHICLE
Any self-propelled airborne, waterborne or landborne plane,
vessel or vehicle, which is not designed to carry persons, including
but not limited to, any model airplane, boat, car or rocket.
PROPERTY OR BOUNDARY LINE
An imaginary line drawn through the points of contact or
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
a common grounds, the line drawn midway between any two such buildings.
All areas 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 plane 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 open to public use as a matter of right.
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,
with or without structures, exclusive of any areas devoted to public
right-of-way.
The following sounds are exempted from the provisions
of this chapter.
A. Amplified announcements: electronically amplified
announcements at athletic events.
B. Blasting. Blasting may occur only between the hours
of 8:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m., Monday through Saturday. No blasting is
permitted on Sundays.
C. Concerts, band concerts, block parties, church carnivals
or other performances or similar activities publicly or privately
sponsored and presented in any public or private space outdoors, provided
that such activities do not occur between the hours of 10:00 p.m.
and 7:00 a.m.
D. Emergency work. Sounds caused by the performance of
emergency work or by the ordinary and accepted use of emergency apparatus
and equipment.
E. Municipal and utility services. Sounds resulting from
the repair or replacement of any municipal or utility installation
in or about the public right-of-way.
F. School and public activities. Sounds not electronically
amplified, created by organized school-related programs, activities,
athletic and entertainment events or other public programs, activities
or events, other than fireworks or fireworks displays and motor vehicle
racing events.
[Amended 2-19-2013 by Ord. No. 892, approved 2-19-2013]
Any person, firm, or corporation violating any
of the provisions of this chapter shall, upon conviction thereof,
be sentenced to pay a fine of not less than $25 nor more than $300,
and costs of prosecution, and, in default of payment of such fine
and costs, to imprisonment for not more than 10 days. A separate offense
shall be deemed committed on each day during which a violation occurs
or continues.
If any sentence, clause, paragraph, section
or portion of this chapter is declared by any court of competent jurisdiction
to be illegal, invalid or unconstitutional, such declaration shall
not affect the remaining provisions of this chapter.