[HISTORY: Adopted by the Borough Council
of the Borough of Columbia 12-10-2007 by Ord. No. 784. Amendments noted where
applicable.]
Any person who shall commit or cause to be committed
any act, word or conduct causing a breach of the peace and good order
of the Borough of Columbia shall be guilty of disorderly practices
in violation of this chapter if that person:
A.
Causes any danger, discomfort or unreasonable annoyance
to any of the inhabitants of the Borough of Columbia or users of the
Borough of Columbia thoroughfares or public areas, including, but
not limited to, anyone who shall willfully make any loud, boisterous
or unseeming noise or disturbance; or
B.
Fights or quarrels or incites others to fight or quarrel;
or
C.
Congregates with others upon any of the Borough of
Columbia thoroughfares or other public areas of the Borough of Columbia
to the reasonable annoyance of peaceable residents nearby or users
of any Borough of Columbia thoroughfares or public areas by the use
of obscene or other offensive language or by threatening conduct;
or
D.
Loiters near or in the entrances to commercial establishments,
whether on public or private property, or any place of public resort,
whether public or private, or upon any private property within the
Borough of Columbia without the consent of the owners thereof, whereby
the public peace is broken or disturbed or the traveling public is
reasonably annoyed by obscene or other offensive language, by loud
or boisterous noise, by threatening conduct, or by blocking entrance
to such an establishment; or
E.
At any time makes any sound which reasonably annoys
or disturbs humans or which reasonably causes an adverse psychological
or physiological effect on humans in a manner that the sound is heard
across property lines or through tenant walls or between one dwelling
unit and another, or in a manner that the sound is heard in excess
of 50 feet from the source of the sound; or
F.
Discharging a firearm, air rifle or bow and arrow anywhere within
the Borough of Columbia.
[Added 10-11-2010 by Ord. No. 807]
The sounds in § 108-1 above are any sound and may typically include, but are not limited to, such things as motor vehicles and motor vehicle accessories, domestic power tools, motorized lawn and garden equipment, loading and unloading vehicles, powered model vehicles, street sales, motor vehicle repairs and testing, unnecessary horn blowing, sound trucks, public address systems, radios, televisions, stereos and CD players and musical instruments.
The use of domestic powers tools, powered model vehicles, motor vehicle repairs and testing, radios, televisions, stereos and CD players and musical instruments or any other sound which has the effect described in § 108-1 above outside the confines of a dwelling or commercial structure, the use of motorized lawn and garden equipment, sound trucks or public address systems or street sales, unnecessary horn blowing or unnecessary idling or revving of motorcycles or truck tractors are prohibited between the hours of 9:00 p.m. and 8:00 a.m.
The following are exempted from the provisions
of this chapter:
A.
Amplified and nonamplified activities approved by
the Borough Manager or his designee, which may include, but not be
limited to, athletic events, concerts, block parties, church carnivals
or other publicly or privately operated events.
B.
Sounds caused by the performance of emergency work
or by the ordinary and accepted use of emergency apparatus and equipment.
C.
Sounds resulting from the repair/management or replacement
of any municipal or utility installation in or about a public right-of-way.
D.
Sounds made by warning devices operating continuously
for three minutes or less, except in the event of an actual emergency,
the time limit shall not apply.
E.
Where unusual or extreme weather conditions, such
as heat, cold, pollen advisories, rain, snow, or other conditions
that would affect the health and safety of persons working therein,
restrict the ability of persons to work between the hours of 8:00
a.m. and 9:00 p.m., upon application to and permission from the Borough
Manager, such persons may engage in activities between 9:00 p.m. and
8:00 a.m. that may cause sound otherwise prohibited.
F.
Sounds caused by the collection and transportation
of refuse and recyclable materials in accordance with the ordinances
of the Borough of Columbia.
G.
The discharge of a firearm at a military funeral or other similar
ceremony shall not constitute a violation of this chapter, provided
that the party organizing such funerals or ceremonies has obtained
a permit from the Chief of Police. For these ceremonies and funerals,
the Chief of Police may issue a permit for the organizing party that
covers all such funerals or ceremonies to be conducted by such party,
whether then contemplated or not, and such permit shall remain in
force until repealed by the Chief of Police.
[Added 10-11-2010 by Ord. No. 807]
H.
The discharge of a firearm, air rifle or bow and arrow under circumstances
which would constitute justification as that term is defined in the
Pennsylvania Crimes Code.
[Added 10-11-2010 by Ord. No. 807]
Any person who shall violate any provision of
this chapter shall, upon conviction thereof, in a summary proceeding,
be sentenced to pay a fine not exceeding $300 and costs of prosecution
or to imprisonment for not less than 30 days, as amended by law.
The provisions of this chapter shall be enforced
by the police officers.
The enactment of this chapter shall not, in any way, constitute a repeal of any provisions of Chapter 149 of the Code of the Borough of Columbia.
[Added 10-11-2010 by Ord. No. 807]
As used in this chapter, the following words shall have the
meanings indicated:
Any air gun, air pistol, spring gun, spring pistol, BB gun,
or any implement that is not a firearm, which impels a pellet of any
kind with a force that can reasonably be expected to cause bodily
harm.
A missile shot from a bow or crossbow, having a slender shaft
with a fletching or vanes at the butt and a pointed head without any
explosive, chemical or poison in the head or shaft and used solely
with a bow or crossbow.
A weapon which propels an arrow, is handheld, hand-drawn,
held in the drawn position by hand or by a handheld mechanical device
and released by hand. The term shall include what is commonly known
as a "crossbow."
The expulsion of a projectile from a firearm, air rifle or
bow and arrow or the operation of a firearm, air rifle or bow and
arrow in such a manner so as to lead one to reasonably conclude by
sight or sound, that a projectile was expelled from a firearm, air
rifle or bow and arrow. If the firearm, air rifle or bow and arrow
used is capable of the expulsion of a projectile, its firing alone
shall be sufficient to constitute a discharge and no further proof
of the expulsion of a projectile shall be necessary.
Any device which is designed and intended to expel a projectile
by action of gun powder, any other explosive, compressed air, compressed
gas or mechanical device including, any device which, when discharged,
would by sound or otherwise: lead another to reasonably conclude by
sight or sound that the device expelled a projectile; or give the
appearance of the expulsion of a projectile even though no expulsion
of a projectile occurred. By way of example and not limitation, items
that are to be considered firearms under this chapter include guns,
pistols, rifles and shotguns. The definition of "firearm" shall not
be deemed to include items that are traditionally considered to be
children's toys when used in the manner for which they were designed.
The definition of "firearm" shall not include starter pistols when
used in the manner in which they were intended; i.e., to signify the
start of a race or other similar event.
