[HISTORY: Adopted by the Township Committee
of the Township of Franklin 8-2-1976 as Ord. No. O-7-1976. Amendments
noted where applicable.]
It shall be unlawful for any person to make,
continue or cause to be made or continued any loud, unnecessary or
unusual noise or any noise which endangers the health, safety or welfare
of the community, or which annoys, disturbs, injures or endangers
the comfort, repose, health, peace or safety of others within the
Township of Franklin.
The following acts, among others, are declared to be loud, unnecessary, disturbing and a danger to the health, safety and welfare of the community and its people, in violation of § 272-1, but the enumeration shall not be deemed to be exclusive, namely:
A.
Horns, signaling devices, etc. The sounding of horns
or signaling devices on any automobile, motorcycle, streetcar, bus
or other vehicle in the township except as a danger warning; the creation
by means of any such signaling device of any unreasonably loud or
harsh sound; the sounding of any such device for an unnecessary and
unreasonable period of time; the use of any horn, whistle or other
device operated by engine, exhaust or by compressed air or gas or
by vacuum; and the use of any such signaling device when traffic is
for any reason held up.
B.
Radios, televisions, phonographs, tape recorders,
etc. The using, operating or permitting to be played, used or operated,
either indoors or outdoors, of any radio, receiving set, television
receiver, musical instrument, phonograph, tape recorder or other machine
or device for the producing or reproducing of sound in such a manner
as to disturb the peace, quiet and comfort of the neighboring inhabitants
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 which such machine or device is operated and who are
voluntary listeners thereto.
C.
Loudspeakers, amplifiers. The using, operating or
permitting to be played, used or operated of any receiving set, musical
instrument, phonograph, loudspeaker, sound amplifier, tape recorder
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 for any other purpose, except as authorized by governmental
authorities in connection with law enforcement or public emergencies,
provided that such devices may be employed in connection with nonprofit
charitable, educational, civic, political, religious or recreational
activities.
D.
People noise. Yelling, shouting, whistling, singing
or conducting unnecessarily loud or annoying vocal utterances at any
time or place so as to unreasonably annoy or disturb the quiet comfort
or repose of any person in any residence, hospital, school, place
of business, street or public place.
E.
Animals, birds, etc. The keeping of any animal or
bird which by causing frequent or long-continued noise shall disturb
the comfort or repose of any persons in the vicinity.
F.
Nonvehicular whistles, horns and other signaling devices,
the sounding of any whistle, horn and other signaling device except
to give notice of the time to begin or stop work or as a warning of
fire or danger, or upon request of proper township authorities or
as may be required by general law or ordinance.
G.
Exhausts. The discharge into the open air of the exhaust
of any steam engine, stationary jet or internal-combustion engine,
or motor vehicle, except through a muffler or other device which will
effectively prevent loud or explosive noises therefrom.
H.
Vehicles and their loads. The use of any automobile,
motorcycle, truck or vehicle so out of repair, so loaded or operated
in such a manner as to create loud and unnecessary grating, grinding,
rattling or other noise.
I.
Schools, courts, churches and hospitals. The creation
of any excessive noise on any street or property adjacent to any school,
institution of learning, church or court, while the same are in use,
or adjacent to any hospital, which unreasonably interferes with the
workings of such institutions or which disturbs or unduly annoys patients
in the hospital.
J.
Miscellaneous night noises. Any of the following activities,
when occurring in close proximity to residences between 11:00 p.m.
and 7:00 a.m.; the warming-up or idling of buses, trucks or tractors
and the unnecessary and repeated idling, acceleration and deceleration
or starting and stopping of automobiles and motorcycles.
A.
The officer charged with the responsibility of issuing permits for the activities requiring permits in accordance with § 272-2 hereof shall issue permits for such activities if such officer shall find that the activities will not unduly or unnecessarily annoy, disturb, injure or endanger the comfort, health, peace or safety of others; that the activities will not violate any other ordinance or law or create a public nuisance; and that the public health and safety will not be endangered thereby.
B.
Permits shall specify the dates and hours of the permitted
activities, which shall not be allowed between the hours of 10:00
p.m. and 7:00 a.m., unless the issuing officer shall determine that
it is in the best interest of the community that the activities take
place wholly or partially during such hours.
C.
The issuing officers are authorized to adopt and use
such forms of application and permits as may be reasonably required
in the performance of their duties. Each application for a permit
shall be accompanied by a fee of $2, which shall be payable to the
Township of Franklin.
An applicant for a permit hereunder shall have
the right to appeal to the Township Committee of the Township of Franklin
from the denial of the permit by the issuing officer. Such appeal
shall be taken by filing a written notice of appeal addressed to the
Mayor and Township Committee at the Municipal Building. Such notice
shall be filed within three days after the issuing officer shall have
notified the applicant of the denial of the permit. The Mayor and
Township Committee shall act upon the appeal as soon as practicable
after removing the notice thereof and shall give the applicant an
opportunity to be heard before taking action. The Mayor and Township
Committee may affirm or reverse the issuing officer's denial of the
permit or may grant the permit with modifications or conditions.
Nothing in this chapter shall be construed to
apply to church bells or chimes, or to farm machinery or equipment
used in the normal course of business, or to the playing of bands
or orchestras in a hall or building in a manner which will not annoy
the peace, comfort and quiet of the neighboring inhabitants, or to
municipal, county, state or federal government agencies in connection
with any emergency, or to normal working activities of or activities
sponsored by the township governing body, or to warning devices on
all authorized emergency vehicles or to horns or other warning devices
on other vehicles used only for traffic safety purposes.
The provisions of this chapter are not intended
to be exclusive or to supersede any other remedies provided by law
or ordinance. If any clause, sentence, paragraph, section or part
of this chapter shall be adjudged by any court of competent jurisdiction
to be invalid, such judgment shall not affect, impair or invalidate
the remainder thereof, but shall be confined in its operation to the
clause, sentence, paragraph, section or part thereof directly involved
in the controversy in which such judgment shall have been rendered.
[Amended 4-23-2013 by Ord. No. O-7-2013]
Any person who shall violate any provisions of this chapter
shall be liable to a penalty not exceeding $1,000 or to imprisonment
for a term not exceeding 90 days, or both, and each day in which a
violation continues shall constitute a separate violation or offense.
