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HomeMy WebLinkAbout38.49.1 ORDINANCE 38.49.1 AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF SARATOGA kMEN~ING THE SARATOGA CITY CODE BY ADDING ARTICLE V TO C~W~PTER 8 T~iREOF', RELATING TO THE CONTROL OF NOISE LEVELS The City Council of the City of Saratoga does hereby ordain as follows: Section 1: The.Saratoga City Code is hereby amended by addih'g Article V, entitled "Noise Control" to Chapter 8 thereof, said Article and its sections and subsections to read as follows: Section 8-80 DeclarAtion of Policy It is hereby declared to be the policy of this City that the peace, health safety and welfare of its citizens require protection from excessive, unnecessary and unreasonable noises from any and all sources in the community subject to its police power. It is the intention of the City Council to control the adverse effects of such noise sources on the citizens under any condition of use, and especially those conditions of use which have the most severe impact upon any person or neighborhood, and not under specia! or ideai conditions. Section 8-81 Definitions For the purposes of this chapter, certain terms ere defined as follows: (a) Sound L.ev~l, expressed in decibels (dB), is a togrithmic indication of the ratio between the acoustic energy present at a given location and the lowest amount of acoustic energy audible to sensitive human ears and weighted by frequency to account for characteristics of human hearing, as given in the American National Standards Institute Standard Si.1, "Acoustic Technology', Paragraph 2.9, or successor reference. All references to dB in this chapter utilize the A-level weighting scale, abbreviated dBA, measured as set forth in this chapter. (b) Precision Sound Level Meter is a device for measuring sound levels in decibel units within the performance specifications in the American National Standards Standard S1,4, "Specification for Sound Level'Meters" or successor reference. (c) Ambient Noise is the all-encompassing noise associated with a given environment, being usually a composite of sounds from many sources, near and far. Local ambient is the noise level obtained when the noise level is averaged over a period of 15 minutes without inclusion of noise from isolated identifiable sources at the location and time of day near that at which a comparison is to be made, and when the noise source at issue is silent. However, for purposes of this article, in no case shall the local ambient be considered or determined to be less than: (1) 40 dBA for interior noise in Section 8-82, (2) 45 dBA in all other sections. If the local ambient is largely composed of noise p.roducad by other individual identifiable sources which would othem.~ise be operating continuously during the 15- minute measurement period and contributing significantly to the amb=ent sound level, determination $f ti~e local ambient shall be acccmpiished with these separate identifiable noise sources silent. (d) Noise Level is the maxim-um continuous sound level or repetitive peak level produced by a source or group of sources as meagured with a precision sound · level meter us'in~ the "A" weighring scale, and the meter response function set to "SLO~' (e) Vehicle is any device by which any person or property may be. propelled, moved, driven or drawn upon a public street or highway or on any private property. determines the property boundaries in spac,. of the parcel of property over from which th~ sound in question is audibly transmitted. (g) Emergencies are essential activities necessary to restore, preserve, protect or save lives or property from imminent danger of loss or harm. (h) Sound Amplifying Equipment shall mean any machine or device for the amplification of the human voice, music or any other sound. This shall not include standard automobile .radios when used or heard only by the occupants of the vehicle in which the automobile radio is installed. The term "Sound Amplifying Equipment", as used in this chapter, shall not include warning devices on authorized emergency vehicles or horns or other warning devices of any vehicle used only for traffic safety purposes. (i~ Commercial Purpose shall mean and include the use, operation, or main- tenance o~: any sound amplifying equipment for the purpose of advertising any business, any goods,! any services, or for the purpose of attracting the attention of the public to, or advertising for, or soliciting patronage or customers tc or for any performance, show, entertainment, exhibition or event, or for the purpose of demonstrating such sound equipment. (j) Non-Commercial Purpose shall mean the use, operation or maintenance of any sound equipment for other than a "commercial purpose". The term "non-commercial purpose" shall mean and include, but shall not be limited to, philanthropic, .political, patriotiq and charitable purposes. (k) Decibel shall mean a unit which is one-tenth of a dimensionless unit for expressing the ratio of two values of a power, the number of those dimensionless units being the logarithm to the base 10 of the power ratio. Section 8-82 Residential Property Noise Limits (a) No person shall cause, produce, suffer or allow to be produced by any machine, animal or device, or any combination of same, in a single-family resi- dential zoning district, a noise level more than 6dBA above the local ambient at any point outside of the property plane. (b) No person shall cause, produce, suffer or allow to be produced by any machine, animal or device, or any combination of same, in a multi-family residential zoning district, a noise level more than 6dBA above the local ambient three feet from any wall, floor or ceiling inside any dwelling unit on the same property, except within the dwelling unit in which the noise source or sources may be located. Section 8.-83 Commercial and Industrial Property Noise Limits No person' shall cause, produce, suffer, or allow to be produced by any machine, animal or device, or any combination of same, in any commercial or industrial zoning district, a noise level more than 8dBA above the local ambient at any point outside of the property plane. Section 8-84 Daytime Exceptions Any noise source which does not produce a noise level exceeding. 7_0 dBA a distance of 25 feet under its most noisy condition of use shall be exempt from the provisions of Sections 8-82 and 8-83 between the hours of 8:00 A.M. and 8:00 Section 8-85 Emergencies Emergencies are exempt from this article. Section· 8-86 Construction Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter,. between the hours of 7:30 A.M. and 8:00 P.M., construction, alteration, or repair activities which are · authorized by a valid city permit shall be allowed if they meet at least one of the . following no ise i imitations: ~ ~o ~'~*~'~"~ pi ~f ' 83 dBA at a distance of 25 feet' from the source thereof. If the device or other source is housed within a struc,,j..ure on the property, the measurement shall be made " -~ outside the structure, but at a distance as close to the equipment or source as possible. (b)· The noise level at any point outside of the property plane of the project shall not exceed 86 dBA. Section 8-~,2 Amplified Sound (a) It shall be unlawful for any person, other than personnel of law enforcemet or governmental agencies, to install, use or operate within the City a loudspeaker or sound ~mplifying equipment in a fixed or movable positionor mounted upon any sound truck fori the purpose of giving instructions, directions, talks, addresses, lectures, or transmittfing music to ~ny persons or assemblages of persons in or upon any street, alley= sidewalk,!park, or public property, or any open space generally available to the public, without first filing a registration statement and obtaining approval thereof as set forth in this article. (b) Every user of sound amplifying equipment shall file a registration state- ment with the City Manager or such person as designated by him fifteen (15) days prior to the date on which the sound amplifying equipment is intended to be used, which state- ment shall contain the following information: 1) The name, address and telephone number of both the owner and user of the sound equipment; the date or dates proposed and the hours of operation; 2) The maximum sound producing power of the sound amplifying equipment which shall include the wattage to be used, the volume in decibels of sound which will be produced, the approximate distance for which sound will be audible from the sound amplifying equipment; and a general description of the emplifying equipment to be used; 3) ·The license and motor number if a sQhnd t~uck is to b.e used; 4) Whether such equipment Will be used for commercial or non-commercial purposes. (c) The City Manager or such person as designated by him shall return to the applicant an approved certified copy of the registration statement unless he finds that: .. ............... :lS"'~h~ condition ~gf [he motor vehicle movement are such that in the opinion of the City Manageror such person as designated by him, use of the equipment wquld constitute a detriment to traffic safety; or 2) The conditions of pedestrian movement are such that use of the equipment would constitute a detriment to traffic safety; or 3) The registration statement required reveals that the applicant would violate the provisions of this Ordinance or any other Ordinance of the City of Saratoga. (d) In the event the registration statement is disapproved, the City Manager or his appointee shall endorse upon the statement his reason for disapproval and return it forthwith eo applicant. (e) Prior to the issuance of the registration statement, the applicant shall' deposit the sum of $50.00 with the City, which deposit s~all be a non-refUndable fee except as follows: Such portion of said deposit, up to the amount of $~5.00thereof as is not used'or expended by City in defraying the cost of monitoring noise produced by said activity or otherwise enforcing this article, shall be returned to the applicant at the expiration of said p~rmit. ................. (f) The corm~ercial and noncommercial use of s~und ~mplifying equipment shall be subject to the following re. guiations. 1) The only so!!nds permitted shall be either music or human ·speech or b~ -3- \ i \ 2) Except on Sundays and legal holidays, the operation of sound amplifying equipment shall only occur between tl:e hours of 7:30 A.M. and 8:00 On Sundays and legal holidays the operation of sound amplifying equipment for = commercial purposes shalI~· only occur between the hours of 9:00 A.M. and 4:00 P.M., with no time limitation as to non-commercial amplification other than as may be required by subsection (f-5) following. 3) Sound level emanating from sound amplifying equipment shall not exceed fifteen (15) decibets above the ambient base noise level. 4) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (c) of this section, sound amplifying equipment shall not be operated within 200.feet of any church, school, or hospital, 5) In all events the volume of sound and the hours of operation shall be so controlled that the sound will not be unreasonably loud, raucous, jarring, disturbing, or a nuisance to reasonable persons of normal sensitiveness within the area of audibility. (g) I~en the amplified sound is to be conducted in a public park, the provisions o£ Section 11-7 of this Code shall also be applicable, the noise level standards of said Section 11-7 having precedence over the standards set forth in subsection (£) above if a reservation permit has been issued pursuant to that section. Application for a group Use Permit under Section 11-6.1 of this Code shall also constitute the registration statement required under this section, Section 8-88 Exception Permits ........ ~'~'~ ............ ~f the applicant Can s~ow to the cit~'Ma~ager o~'~ ~esi~n~'that immediate compliance with the requirements of ·this chapter would be impractical or unreasonable, a permit to allow exception from the provisions contained in all or a portion of this chapter may be issued, with appropriate conditions to minimize the public detriment caused by such exceptions. Any such permit shall be of as ..... short duration as possible and shall be conditioned by a schedule for compliance and details of methods thereof in appropriate cases. Any person aggrieved with the decision of the City Manager or his designee may appeal to the City Council pursuant to appropriate sections of this code, which appeal shall be a de novo hearing. Section 8-89 Certain Noises to be Public Nuisance Based upon surveys and studies, the City Council hereby finds and determines that, unless coming within one or more of the exceptions specified in this chapter, any noise level in excess of the dBA limits specified in Sections 8-82, 8-83, and 8-85 hereof for the area or use therein specified, will cause a disturbance of the ~eace, quiet and comfort of the neighboring residents and/or will cause discomfort or annoyance to a reasonable person of normal sensitiveness residing in the area. Section 8-90 General Noise Regulations Notwithstanding any other provisions of this chapter, and in addition thereto, .it shall be unlawful for any person to willfully make or continue or cause to be made or continued, any loud, unnecessary~ or unusual noise which disturbs the peace or quietl. of any neighborhood or which causes discomfort or annoyance to any .... ~""! ~reasonable person of normal sensitiveness residing in th~ ar~a. The standards which shall be considered in determining whether a violation of this section exists shall include, but not be limited to, the following: (a) The level of the noise; (b) The intensity of the noise; (c) ~ether the nature of the noise is unusual; (d) Whether the origin of the noise is natural or unnatural;. The l~vel.and.iptensity of the background noise, if any~ " (f) The pr6ximity 0flthe noise to residential sleeping facilities; (g) The nature and'zoning of the area within which the noise emafiates; '(h) The density of the inhabitation of the area'within which the noise emanates;. (i) The time of the day or of the night noise occurs; (j) The duration of the noise; (k) Whether the noise is recurrent, intermittent, or constant; and '(!) Whether'the noise is pr~oduced by a commercial or non-~ommercfal activity. Section 8-91 Summary Abatement In addition to the remedies: prescribed in 1-7 of this code,'any noise levels and its source inViol~tion'of~any of the provzslons of this article'is hereby declared tO be a~pUBlid)nuiS~n6~ and ~y be.sUm~ar{ly abated by the ~heriff, the Code Enforcement Officer, or other designated representatives, which summary abatemen[ may include, bht is ngt limited to, removal,;partial dismantlement, and taking. into custody ~he' source o~lca~se'~0f.'suchlnoise, a~din this regard the con- fiscation of any machine or device used to violate any of the provisions hereof is hereby authorized, ~o be<held'for use'.as evidence'in any criminal proceeding that may thereafter Be ~ough~ for such ~iolation. Section 2: If any section, subs~cki0n, sentence, clause, or phrase of this ordinance is for any reason held by a court of competent jurisd.iction to b~ invalid, such decision shall not affect the validity of the remaining portions of this ordinance. The City Council of the City of Saratoga hereby declares that it wDUld have passed this ordinance and each section, shbsection, sentence, clause, and phrase thereof,.irrespe. ctive of the fact that any one or more sections, suBsections, sentences, clauses, or phrases be held invalid or unconstitutional. '- Section 3: This ordinance sh'all take.effect and be in full force and effect !'t~irty (30) days ~fter the date of its passage and adoption. The above and foregoing ordinance was regularly introduced, 'and ~fte'r the waiting time requi~ed by law, .was thereafter passed and adopted at a r~gular meeting of the City Council of the City of Saratoga on the 5th day of. December , 19 73 , by [he fo'liowing vote: AYES: Councilmen Smith, Dv~er, Bddges, Olrldon 'NOES: Noneg~_j._c.,.,.,u.~,a., , . ;~ ,~ ~ ~ ~ '~ , ~ - ,-.- , . .~~ ~ .,~ .. The above and fo ~n is a ~] ~d corm~ ATTES : )~ ' ,' , . · ~ ~ b Oeputy C~ty C~erk y ..... Date '