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(a) The planning director, as the zoning administrator for the city, is hereby empowered to administer and enforce this article.
(b) Violation of this article shall be enforceable as set forth in this subsection in addition to the enforcement provisions as set forth in section 30-10-8 of Appendix A of this Code.
(1) Notice of violation. The planning director shall have the authority to issue a notice of violation for any violation of this article. A copy of the notice of violation shall be delivered to the person violating this article by hand delivery or by certified mail. In all other cases, a copy of the notice of violation shall be posted on the property where the violation is occurring and a copy shall be delivered by hand delivery or certified mail to the property owner as shown on the county tax records. In addition, service under this subsection may be made in accordance with Rule 4 of the State Rules of Civil Procedure.
(2) Time to remedy violation. The person violating this article shall have 15 days to remedy all violations set forth in the notice of violation. The 15-day period shall commence upon the earlier of the posting of the notice of violation on the property or the delivery of a copy of the notice of violation.
(3) Extension of time for compliance. The planning director shall have the authority to grant a single 30-day extension of time within which the person violating this article must comply with the notice of violation. The single extension of time may be issued based upon a written request for extension of time which sets forth valid reasons for not complying with the original 15-day period.
(4) Remedies for failure to comply. Pursuant to N.C. Gen. Stat. sec. 160A-175(f) the planning director may choose from the remedies as set forth in chapter 7, article 18 of this Code to enforce this article when there is a failure to comply with the notice of violation.
(Code 1965, § 15-7; Ord. No. 1766, § 5, 6-6-89; Ord. No. 2242, § 9, 9-26-95; Ord. No. 3467, § 1(g), 5-8-07)
Secs. 10-65—10-80. Reserved.
ARTICLE IV. NOISE REGULATION 4
Notes
| 4 | Editor's note(s)— Ord. No. 4390, § 2, adopted July 27, 2021, amended art. IV to read as set out herein. Former art. IV pertained to similar subject matter and derived from Ord. No. 2726, § 1, adopted June 27, 2000; Ord. No. 3042, § 1, adopted July 22, 2003; and Ord. No. 4136, §§ 1(c), 1(d), 1(e), 1(a), (b), adopted Nov. 13, 2012. State law reference(s)— Authority to adopt ordinances and regulations to promote and protect the health, welfare and safety of its citizens, G.S. 160A-174; authority to regulate, restrict or prohibit the production or emission of noises or amplified speech, G.S. 160A-184. Cross reference(s)— Quiet zones, § 19-8 . |
This article shall apply to all sound, sound vibration, and noise originating within the corporate limits of the City of Asheville. Nothing in this article shall be construed to limit or prevent the city or any person from pursuing any other legal remedies for damages or the abatement of noises in the city.
(Ord. No. 4390, § 2, 7-27-21)
The words and phrases defined in this section shall have the meaning indicated when used in this article unless otherwise specifically provided, or unless otherwise clearly required by the context. All terminology used in this ordinance, not defined below, shall be in conformance with applicable standards of the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) or its successor bodies.
Abutting means joining at a border or boundary.
Adjacent means the condition of being near to, adjoining or close to but not necessarily having a common dividing line. Two properties which are separated by only a street, alley or unopened/undeveloped right-of-way shall be considered as adjoining one another.
Amplified sound means a sound augmented by any electronic or other means that increases the sound level or volume.
A-Weighted sound level (L a, dB(A), dBA) means the sound pressure level in decibels as measured on a sound level meter using the A-weighting network as specified in ANSI documents for sound level meters. The level so read is post scripted dB(A) or dBA.
Central Business district means any area with the following zoning designation: Central Business District.
Commercial district means any area with the following zoning designation: Neighborhood Business District, Office District, Office II District, Office/Business District, Community Business I District, Community Business District II, Urban Residential District, Neighborhood Corridor District, Haywood Road Form District, River Arts Form District, Urban Village District, Urban Place District, Resort District, Resort District, Institutional District, Highway Business District, Regional Business District, River District, Commercial Industrial District, Commercial Expansion District, Mixed Use Expansion District, Institutional Expansion District, Lodging Expansion District.
Construction means erection, repair, assembly, alteration, landscaping, or demolition of any building or building site.
Continuous sound means any sound which does not vary in sound level more than five dB(A) during a measurement period which shall be at least 60 minutes.
Cyclically varying sound means any sound which varies in sound level more than five dB(A) during a measurement period such that the same level is obtained repetitively at reasonably uniform intervals of time less than ten minutes.
Daytime hours: 7:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m., local time, unless otherwise specified.
Decibel (dB) means a logarithmic (dimensionless) measure used in describing the amplitude of sound.
Impulsive sound means any sound or vibration of short duration that has an abrupt increase and abrupt decay.
Industrial district means any area with the following zoning designation: Commercial Industrial District, Light Industrial District, Industrial District, Industrial Expansion District.
Intermittent sound means any sound source that ceases to emit sound at intervals. The levels during on periods may be either constant or varying.
Leq means the equivalent sound level, which is the constant sound level in a given time period that conveys the same sound energy as the actual time-varying sound. The applicable time period for the Leq must be specified.
Medical clinic means any location where one or more “health care providers,” as that term is defined in N.C. Gen. Stat. § 90-21.11, provide their services, without regard to whether such services are provided on an inpatient or outpatient basis.
Mobile sound vehicle means any non-emergency vehicle operated by a governmental entity and specially equipped with mechanical loudspeakers or amplifiers for the purpose of directing sound more than ten feet beyond the vehicle.
Motor vehicles means road vehicles, such as automobiles, vans, motorcycles and trucks, as well as off-road vehicles such as dirt bikes, 4-wheelers, self-propelled construction and farming equipment; vehicles powered by an internal combustion engine.
Nighttime hours: 10:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m., local time, unless otherwise specified.
Noise control administrator means any officially designated employees or agents of the municipality that have primary responsibility for noise control and have received training in the standards for the measurement of sound levels.
Noise disturbance means any sound or vibration which:
(1) May disturb or annoy reasonable persons of normal sensitivities; or
(2) Causes, or tends to cause, an adverse effect on the public health and welfare; or
(3) Endangers or injures people; or
(4) Endangers or injures personal or real property.
To determine whether a noise constitutes a noise disturbance, the following factors incident to such noise are to be considered:
(1) Whether the noise occurred during daytime or nighttime hours;
(2) The noise's volume and intensity;
(3) Whether the noise has been enhanced in volume or range by any type of megaphone, amplifier, or other mechanical means;
(4) The frequentness and duration of the noise, and;
(5) The nature and zoning of the area.
Pure tone means:
(1) Any sound that can be heard as a single pitch or combination of pitches, or;
(2) Any sound in which the one-third octave band sound pressure level in the band with the tone exceeds the level in the two contiguous one-third octave bands by 5 dB in bands 500 Hz and above, by eight dB for bands between 160 and 400 Hz, and by 15 dB for bands below 160 Hz.
Performance center means an open, partially enclosed, or fully enclosed facility designed or intended for use for the gathering of people as an audience for presentations such as, but not limited to, music, lectures, or live theater.
Public space means a right-of-way, street, park or any real property or structures owned or controlled by a governmental entity that is permanently devoted to public use.
Real property line means an imaginary line along the ground surface, and its vertical extension, which separates the real property owned by one person or entity from that owned by another person or entity, but not including intra- building real property divisions.
Residential district means any area with the following zoning designation: RS-2 Residential Single-Family Low-Density District, RS-4 Residential Single-Family Medium Density District, RS-8 Residential Single-Family High-Density District, RM-6 Residential Multi-Family Low-Density District, RM-8 Residential Multi-Family Medium Density District, RM-16 Residential Multi-Family High-Density District, Residential Expansion District.
Sound means any disturbance of the air or other medium that is detectable by the unaided human ear or which produces vibrations detectable by reasonable persons of normal sensitivity.
Sound level meter means a device used for measuring the intensity of sound. A sound level meter uses a microphone to measure the changes in air pressure produced by the sound source. Sound level meters typically report readings in decibels.
(Ord. No. 4390, § 2, 7-27-21; Ord. No. 5034, 8-22-23)
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