[Adopted 8-9-1971 as Ch. 88 of the 1971 Code. Amendments noted where applicable.]
Subject to the provisions of this article, the
creation of any unreasonably loud, disturbing and unnecessary noise
in the Borough of Beach Haven is prohibited.
[Amended 5-29-1973 by Ord. No. 73-6]
A. Findings and declaration. It is hereby found and declared
that:
(1) The making, creation or maintenance of excessive,
unnecessary, unnatural or unusually loud noises constitutes a detriment
to the public health, comfort, safety and welfare of the residents
of the Borough of Beach Haven.
(2) The necessity in the public interest for the provisions,
regulations and prohibitions contained in this article is declared
as a matter of legislative determination and public policy, and it
is further declared that the provisions, regulations and prohibitions
hereinafter contained are in pursuance of and for the purpose of securing
and promoting the public health, safety and welfare and the peace
and quiet of the Borough of Beach Haven and its inhabitants.
B. Definitions.
(1) As used in this article, the following terms shall have
the meanings indicated:
DAYTIME HOURS
7:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. Sunday through Thursday.
7:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m. Friday and Saturday.
[Added 2-9-2015 by Ord.
No. 2015-5C; amended 12-11-2017 by Ord. No. 2017-37C]
NIGHTTIME HOURS
10:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m. Sunday through Thursday.
11:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m. Friday and Saturday.
[Added 2-9-2015 by Ord.
No. 2015-5C; amended 12-11-2017 by Ord. No. 2017-37C]
PLAINLY AUDIBLE
Any sound that can be detected by a person using his or her
unaided hearing faculties of normal acuity. As an example, if the
sound source under investigation is live entertainment or a portable
or personal vehicular sound amplification or reproduction device,
the detection of the rhythmic base component of the music is sufficient
to verify plainly audible sound. The law enforcement officer need
not determine the title, specific words of the artist performing the
song.
[Added 2-9-2015 by Ord.
No. 2015-5C]
ZERO-TOLERANCE ZONE
Areas in the Borough of Beach Haven which, because of the history of repeated or continuous noise violations, are designated as zero-tolerance zones and special enforcement areas as designated by signs placed from time to time according to the above as determined by the Borough Manager and the Chief of Police. Any violations occurring in such a zero-tolerance zone shall be subject to §
134-4.
[Added 6-8-1998 by Ord. No. 98-10; amended 9-13-2010 by Ord. No. 2010-20]
[Amended 5-29-1973 by Ord. No. 73-6]
A. Specific noise prohibitions.
[Amended 9-13-2004 by Ord. No.
2004-21; 2-9-2015 by Ord.
No. 2015-5C]
(1) Unless exempted under the provisions of this article,
no person shall cause to be made, directly or indirectly, any loud
noise which disturbs, injures or endangers the health, comfort, safety
or welfare of others within the Borough of Beach Haven.
(a) When an officer can hear plainly audible music or other sound at a distance of 100 feet beyond the property line of the noise-generating property during nighttime hours, or any unreasonable sound at or within a complainant’s property during daytime hours, there is a violation of this section and the violator is subject to the penalties contained in §
1-16 of the Code of the Borough of Beach Haven.
(2) The following specific acts are declared to be loud,
disturbing and unnecessary noises in violation of this article, but
said enumeration shall not be deemed to be exclusive:
(a)
No person shall, within the limits of the Borough of Beach Haven,
operate or use radio, television, or any other sound-producing instrument,
device or apparatus in such a manner that will disturb the rest or
repose of any person or persons in his, her or their place of abode
or at any time with louder volume than is necessary for convenient
hearing for the person or persons who are in the room, vehicle, chamber
or premises in or at which such manner or device is operated and who
are voluntary listeners thereto.
(b)
Construction or repairing of buildings. The erection ( including
excavating), demolition, alteration or repair of any building other
than between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m. on weekdays and
9:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m. on Saturdays; Memorial Day through Labor Day
annually. At any other time, the erection, demolition, alteration
or repair of any building other than between the hours of 7:00 a.m.
and 6:00 p.m. on weekdays and 9:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m. on Saturdays,
except in case of urgent necessity in the interest of public health
and safety, and then only with a permit from the Building Inspector,
which permit may be granted for a period not to exceed three days
or less while the emergency continues and which permit may be renewed
for a period of three days or less while the emergency continues.
Sunday hours are not permitted. Hours during Thanksgiving Day and
Christmas Day are not permitted.
[Amended 11-12-2019 by Ord. No. 2019-28C; 3-11-2024 by Ord. No. 2024-3C]
(c)
Landscaping, installation of pavers and masonry work. The forming
of any landscaping, installation of pavers or masonry work on any
lands within the Borough of Beach Haven other than between the hours
of 8:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m. on weekdays and 9:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m.
on Saturdays; Memorial Day through Labor Day annually. At any other
time of the year, the erection, demolition, alteration or repair of
any building other than between the hours of 7:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m.
on weekdays and 9:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m. on Saturdays, except in the
case of urgent necessity in the interest of public health and safety
and then only with a permit from the Building Inspector, which permit
may be granted for a period not to exceed three days while the emergency
continues and which permit may be renewed for a period of not exceeding
a single period not to exceed three days while the emergency continues.
Sunday hours are not permitted. Hours during Thanksgiving Day and
Christmas Day are not permitted.
[Amended 11-12-2019 by Ord. No. 2019-28C; 3-11-2024 by Ord. No. 2024-3C]
(d)
Cutting of pavers, stone, brick, slate, or masonry, except with
the use of water dampening devices to hold down noise and dust.
(e)
Yelling, shouting and the like. Yelling, shouting, hooting,
whistling or singing on the public streets at any time or place so
as to annoy or disturb the quiet, comfort or repose of persons in
any office, dwelling, hotel, motel or other type of residence or of
any persons in the vicinity.
(3) If any person who is not exempted under the provisions of this article
shall cause to be made any of the noises prohibited under this article,
said individual shall be in violation of this article.
B. Exceptions. The prohibitions contained in this article
shall not apply to persons:
(1) Who are engaged in the performance of any public or
governmental function such as the sounding of a church or school bell
or a police, fire, ambulance, air-raid or like disaster warning, alert
or alarm, whether such alarm is for an actual emergency purpose or
for practice or drilling purposes.
(2) Who are engaged in religious, charitable, recreational,
civic or political activity by means of a sound truck or other amplifying
device, for nonprofit purposes, provided that such persons shall have
first filed with the Council an application for a permit setting forth
the sponsorship, date, hours and routes of such activity and the Council
shall have issued a permit after having ascertained that such activity
is not in conflict, in terms of hours, route, traffic volume and like
factors, with any other previously scheduled activity.
[Amended 9-13-2010 by Ord. No. 2010-20]
(3) Who are engaged in any activity specifically permitted
or required by any ordinance, resolution, statute or governmental
regulation.
[Added 6-8-1998 by Ord. No. 98-10]
A. Prohibited acts. No persons shall cause, suffer, allow
or permit to be made verbally or mechanically any noise disturbance
in a zero-tolerance zone. Noncommercial public speaking and public
assembly activities conducted on any public space or public right-of-way
shall be exempt from the enforcement of this section.
B. The fact that a noise violation occurred in a zero-tolerance
zone shall be considered by the Municipal Court Judge as an aggravating
factor in determining the appropriate sentence.
[Adopted 12-12-2016 by Ord. No. 2016-27C]
The following words and terms, when used in this article, shall
have the following meanings, unless the context clearly indicates
otherwise. Terms not defined in this article have the same meaning
as those defined in N.J.A.C. 7:29.
CONSTRUCTION
Any site preparation, assembly, erection, repair, alteration
or similar action of buildings or structures.
dBC
The sound level as measured using the "C" weighting network
with a sound level meter meeting the standards set forth in ANSI S1.4-1983
or its successors. The unit of reporting is dB(C). The "C" weighting
network is more sensitive to low frequencies than is the "A" weighting
network.
DEMOLITION
Any dismantling, destruction or removal of buildings, structures,
or roadways.
DEPARTMENT
The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection.
EMERGENCY WORK
Any work or action necessary at the site of an emergency
to restore or deliver essential services, including, but not limited
to, repairing water, gas, electricity, telephone, sewer facilities,
or public transportation facilities, removing fallen trees on public
rights-of-way, dredging navigational waterways, or abating life-threatening
conditions or a state of emergency declared by a governing agency.
IMPULSIVE SOUND
Either a single pressure peak or a single burst (multiple
pressure peaks) that has a duration of less than one second.
MINOR VIOLATION
A violation that is not the result of the purposeful, reckless
or criminally negligent conduct of the alleged violator; and/or the
activity or condition constituting the violation has not been the
subject of an enforcement action by any authorized local, county or
state enforcement agency against the violator within the immediately
preceding 12 months for the same or substantially similar violation.
MOTOR VEHICLE
Any vehicle that is propelled other than by human or animal
power on land.
MUFFLER
A properly functioning sound dissipative device or system
for abating the sound on engines or equipment, where such device is
part of the normal configuration of the equipment.
MULTIDWELLING UNIT BUILDING
Any building comprising two or more dwelling units, including,
but not limited to, apartments, condominiums, co-ops, multiple-family
houses, townhouses, and attached residences.
MULTIUSE PROPERTY
Any distinct parcel of land that is used for more than one
category of activity. Examples include, but are not limited to:
A.
A commercial, residential, industrial or public service property
having boilers, incinerators, elevators, automatic garage doors, air
conditioners, laundry rooms, utility provisions, or health and recreational
facilities, or other similar devices or areas, either in the interior
or on the exterior of the building, which may be a source of elevated
sound levels at another category on the same distinct parcel of land;
or
B.
A building, which is both commercial (usually on the ground
floor) and residential property, located above, below or otherwise
adjacent to.
NOISE CONTROL INVESTIGATOR (NCI)
An employee of a municipality, county or regional health
commission that has a Department-approved model noise control ordinance
and the employee has not received noise enforcement training as specified
by the Department in N.J.A.C. 7:29. However, they are knowledgeable
about their model noise ordinance and enforcement procedures. A Noise
Control Investigator may only enforce sections of the ordinance that
do not require the use of a sound level meter. The employee must be
acting within his or her designated jurisdiction and must be authorized
to issue a summons.
NOISE CONTROL OFFICER (NCO)
An employee of a local, county or regional health agency
which is certified pursuant to the County Environmental Health Act
(N.J.S.A. 26:3A2-21 et seq.) to perform noise enforcement activities
or an employee of a municipality with a Department-approved model
noise control ordinance. All NCOs must receive noise enforcement training
as specified by the Department in N.J.A.C. 7:29 and is currently certified
in noise enforcement. The employee must be acting within his or her
designated jurisdiction and must be authorized to issue a summons.
PLAINLY AUDIBLE
Any sound that can be detected by an NCO or an NCI using
his or her unaided hearing faculties of normal acuity. As an example,
if the sound source under investigation is a portable or vehicular
sound amplification or reproduction device, the detection of the rhythmic
bass component of the music is sufficient to verify plainly audible
sound. The NCO or NCI need not determine the title, specific words,
or the artist performing the song.
PRIVATE RIGHT-OF-WAY
Any street, avenue, boulevard, road, highway, sidewalk, alley
or easement that is owned, leased, or controlled by a nongovernmental
entity.
PUBLIC RIGHT-OF-WAY
Any street, avenue, boulevard, road, highway, sidewalk, alley
or easement that is owned, leased, or controlled by a governmental
entity.
PUBLIC SPACE
Any real property or structures thereon that are owned, leased,
or controlled by a governmental entity.
REAL PROPERTY LINE
Either the vertical boundary that separates one parcel of
property (i.e., lot and block) from another residential or commercial
property; the vertical and horizontal boundaries of a dwelling unit
that is part of a multidwelling unit building; or on a multiuse property
as defined herein, the vertical or horizontal boundaries between the
two portions of the property on which different categories of activity
are being performed (e.g., if the multiuse 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, or if there is an outdoor sound source
such as an HVAC unit on the same parcel of property, the boundary
line is the exterior wall of the receiving unit). Note: This definition
shall not apply to a commercial source and a commercial receptor which
are both located on the same parcel of property (e.g., a strip mall).
SOUND PRODUCTION DEVICE
Any device whose primary function is the production of sound,
including, but not limited to, any musical instrument, loudspeaker,
radio, television, digital or analog music player, public address
system or sound-amplifying equipment.
SOUND REDUCTION DEVICE
Any device, such as a muffler, baffle, shroud, jacket, enclosure,
isolator, or dampener provided by the manufacturer with the equipment,
or that is otherwise required, that mitigates the sound emissions
of the equipment.
WEEKDAY
Any day that is not a federal holiday, and beginning on Monday
at 7:00 a.m. and ending on the following Friday at 6:00 p.m.
WEEKENDS
Beginning on Friday at 6:00 p.m. and ending on the following
Monday at 7:00 a.m.
The following standards shall apply to the activities or sources
of sound set forth below:
A. Power tools, home maintenance tools, landscaping and/ or yard maintenance
equipment used by a residential property owner or tenant shall not
be operated between the hours of 6:00 p.m. and 8:00 a.m., excluding
emergency work, unless such activities can meet the applicable limits
set forth in Table I, II or III. Sunday hours are not permitted. At
all other times the limits set forth in Table I, II or III do not
apply. All motorized equipment used in these activities shall be operated
with a muffler and/ or sound-reduction device.
[Amended 11-12-2019 by Ord. No. 2019-28C]
B. Power tools, landscaping and/or yard maintenance equipment used by
nonresidential operators (e.g., commercial operators) shall not be
operated on a residential, commercial, or industrial property between
the hours of 6:00 p.m. and 8:00 a.m. on weekdays, or between the hours
of 6:00 p.m. and 9:00 a.m. on Saturdays, excluding emergency work,
between Memorial Day and Labor Day annually, unless such activities
can meet the limits set forth in Table I, II or III. At any other
time of the year, power tools, landscaping and/ or yard maintenance
equipment used by nonresidential operators (e.g., commercial operators)
shall not be operated on a residential, commercial, or industrial
property between the hours of 6:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m. on weekdays
and 6:00 p. m. and 9:00 a.m. on Saturdays. Sunday hours are not permitted.
At all other times the limits set forth in Table I, II or III do not
apply. All motorized equipment used in these activities shall be operated
with a muffler and/ or sound-reduction device.
[Amended 11-12-2019 by Ord. No. 2019-28C]
C. All construction and demolition activity, excluding emergency work,
shall not be performed between the hours of 6:00 p.m. and 8:00 a.m.
on weekdays, or between the hours of 6:00 p.m. and 9:00 a.m. on Saturdays,
between Memorial Day and Labor Day annually unless such activities
can meet the limits set forth in Table I, II or III. At any other
time of the year, construction and demolition activity, excluding
emergency work, shall not be performed between the hours of 6:00 p.m.
and 7:00 a.m. on weekdays and 6:00 p.m. and 9:00 a.m. on Saturdays.
Sunday hours are not permitted. At all other times the limits set
forth in Table I, II or III do not apply. All motorized equipment
used in construction and demolition activity shall be operated with
a muffler and/ or sound-reduction device.
[Amended 11-12-2019 by Ord. No. 2019-28C]
D. Motorized snow removal equipment shall be operated with a muffler
and/or a sound reduction device when being used for snow removal.
At all other times the limits set forth in Tables I, II or III do
not apply.
E. All interior and exterior burglar alarms of a building or motor vehicle
must be activated in such a manner that the burglar alarm terminates
its operation within five minutes for continuous airborne sound and
15 minutes for intermittent sound after it has been activated. At
all other times, the limits set forth in Tables I, II or III do not
apply.
F. Self-contained, portable, nonvehicular music or sound production
devices shall not be operated on a public space or public right-of-way
in such a manner as to be plainly audible at a distance of 50 feet
in any direction from the operator between the hours of 8:00 a.m.
and 10:00 p.m. Between the hours of 10:00 p.m. and 8:00 a.m., sound,
operated on a public space or public right-of-way, from such equipment
shall not be plainly audible at a distance of 25 feet in any direction
from the operator.
G. It shall be unlawful for any property owner or tenant to allow any
domesticated or caged animal to create a sound across a real property
line which unreasonably disturbs or interferes with the peace, comfort,
and repose of any resident, or to refuse or intentionally fail to
cease the unreasonable noise when ordered to do so by a Noise Control
Officer or Noise Control Investigator. Prima facie evidence of a violation
of this section shall include, but not be limited to, vocalizing (howling,
yelping, barking, squawking, etc.) for five minutes without interruption,
defined as an average of four or more vocalizations per minute in
that period; or vocalizing for 20 minutes intermittently, defined
as an average of two vocalizations or more per minute in that period.
It is an affirmative defense under this subsection that the dog or
other animal was intentionally provoked to bark or make any other
noise.
H. The operation of emergency electrical generators for routine maintenance
and routine regular operations is limited to between the hours of
9:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m. This time limitation shall not apply when
electrical power serving the property on which the emergency electrical
generator is located fails and the operation of the emergency electrical
generator is required to provide power for any structures on the lot
which such emergency generators serve.