(A) Short title. This section may be cited as the Noise Control Ordinance of the City of Bethany.
(B) Declaration of findings and public policy.
(1) Excessive sound and vibration are a serious hazard to the public health and welfare, safety and the quality of life; and
(2) A substantial body of science and technology exists by which excessive sound and vibration may be substantially abated; and
(3) The people have a right to, and should be ensured, an environment free of excessive sound and vibration that may jeopardize their health and welfare or safety or degrade the quality of life; and
(4) Therefore, it is the policy of the City of Bethany to prevent excessive sound and vibration which may jeopardize the health and welfare or safety or the quality of life of its citizens. This section shall apply to the control of all sound and vibration originating within the limits of the City of Bethany.
(C) Definitions. For the purpose of this section, the following definitions shall apply unless the context clearly indicates or requires a different meaning. All terminology used in this section, not defined below, shall be in conformance with applicable standards of the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) or its successor bodies.
A-WEIGHTED SOUND LEVEL (La, dB(A) or dBA). 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.
COMMERCIAL ZONE. Any of the various zoning categories for commercial property within the City of Bethany, to include: Commercial Neighborhood, Commercial Shopping Center, Commercial Office, Commercial Restricted, Commercial General, Commercial Highway, or Central Business District, and planned unit developments, mixed use developments, or public use developments designated for commercial purposes.
CONTINUOUS SOUND. Any sound which does not vary in sound level more than five dBA during a period of 60 minutes or more.
CYCLICALLY VARYING SOUND. Any sound which varies in sound level more than five dBA during a measurement period such that the same level is obtained repetitively at reasonably uniform intervals of time less than ten minutes.
DECIBEL (dB). A logarithmic (dimensionless) measure used in describing the amplitude of sound.
EMERGENCY. Any occurrence or set of circumstances involving actual or imminent physical trauma or property damage which demands immediate attention.
EMERGENCY WORK. Any work performed for the purpose of preventing or alleviating the physical trauma of persons or property damage threatened or caused by an emergency.
IMPULSIVE SOUND. Any sound or vibration of short duration that has an abrupt increase and abrupt decay.
INDUSTRIAL ZONE. Any of the industrial zoning districts within the City of Bethany, to include: Industrial Light, Industrial Heavy, and planned unit developments designated for industrial purposes.
NOISE DISTURBANCE. Any sound or vibration which:
(a) May disturb or annoy reasonable persons of normal sensitivities; or
(b) Causes, or tends to cause, an adverse effect on the public health and welfare; or
(c) Endangers or injures people; or
(d) Endangers or injures personal or real property.
PERSON. Any individual, association, partnership, joint venture, or corporation, and includes any officer, employee, department, agency, or instrumentality of the State of Oklahoma or any political subdivision of the State of Oklahoma.
PLAINLY AUDIBLE SOUND. Any sound for which the information is unambiguously communicated to the listener, such as, but not limited
to, understandable speech, comprehension of whether a voice is raised or normal, repetitive bass sounds, or comprehension of musical rhythms, without the aid of any listening device.
POWER TOOL. Any device powered mechanically, by electricity, by gasoline, by diesel fuel or by any other fuel, which is intended to be used, or is actually used for, but shall not be limited to, the performance of such functions as cutting, nailing, stapling, sawing, vacuuming, or drilling.
PUBLIC PROPERTY. Any real property, or structures thereon, which are owned or controlled by a government entity.
PUBLIC RIGHT-OF-WAY. Any street, avenue, boulevard, highway, sidewalk, alley or similar place which is owned or controlled by a governmental entity.
PURE TONE. Any sound that can be heard as a single pitch or combination of pitches.
REAL PROPERTY BOUNDARY. An imaginary line along the ground surface and its vertical extension, which separates the real property owned by one person from that owned by another person, but not including intra-building real property divisions.
REAL TIME ANALYZER (RTA). An instrument that meets the definition of a sound level meter but includes more functions.
RESIDENTIAL ZONE. Property zoned in the City of Bethany as residential one-family, residential two-family, residential multiple family, mobile/manufactured home park, or planned residential development, and planned unit developments, mixed use developments, or public use developments designated for residential purposes.
RMS SOUND PRESSURE (PRMS). The square root of the time averaged square of the sound pressure.
SOUND. A temporal and spatial oscillation in pressure, or other physical quantity, in a medium resulting in compression and rarefaction of that medium, and which propagates at finite speed to distant locations.
SOUND LEVEL. The conversion of sound pressure to a logarithmic measure called the decibel.
SOUND LEVEL METER. An instrument, including a microphone, amplifier RMS detector, and integrator, or time averager, output meter and weighting networks, all of which are sensitive to minute pressure fluctuations. When properly calibrated, the output meter reads sound pressure level. To be acceptable, the meter shall be Type 1 or Type 2 as defined by appropriate ANSI standards.
SOUND PRESSURE. The instantaneous difference between the actual air pressure and the average or barometric pressure at a given location.
SOUND REPRODUCTION DEVICE. Any device, instrument, mechanism, equipment or apparatus for the amplification of any sounds from any radio, phonograph, stereo, tape player, musical instrument, television, loudspeaker, or other sound-making or sound-producing device, or any device or apparatus for the reproduction or amplification of the human voice or other sound.
WEEKDAY. Any day from Monday through Friday that is not a legal holiday.
(D) Noise disturbance prohibited. No person shall make, continue, or cause to be made or continued, any noise disturbance. Unamplified, non-commercial public speaking and public assembly activities conducted at conversational voice levels on any public right-of-way or public property shall be exempt from the operation of this section if such sound is not plainly audible beyond 100 feet or does not infringe on the legitimate rights of others.
(E) Specific disturbances prohibited. The following acts and the causing thereof are declared to be a violation of this section:
(1) Radios, televisions, musical instruments, and similar devices. Operating, playing or permitting the operation or playing of any sound reproduction device in such a manner as to create a noise disturbance or be plainly audible across a real property boundary in a residential zone or be plainly audible at a distance of 50 feet on a public right-of-way or on public property, except for activities open to the public and for which a permit has been issued by the City of Bethany. This provision shall not apply to non-commercial public speech and assembly activities conducted at conversational voice levels on any public right-of-way or public property if such sound is not plainly audible beyond 100 feet or does not infringe on the legitimate rights of others.
(2) Public address systems. Using or operating for any non-commercial purpose, any loudspeaker, public address system, or similar device such that the sound therefrom creates a noise disturbance or is plainly audible across a real property boundary in a residential zone at a distance of 50 feet on a public right-of-way or on public property; or using or operating for any commercial purpose, any loudspeaker, public address system, or similar device between the hours of 9:00 p.m. and 8:00 a.m. the following day on a public right-of-way or on public property such that the sound therefrom creates a noise disturbance or is plainly audible across a real property boundary in a residential zone at a distance of 50 feet on a public right-of-way or on public property.
(3) Street sales. Offering for sale or selling anything by shouting or outcry within any residential zone except by permit issued by the City of Bethany.
(4) Animals. Owning, possessing or harboring any animal which howls, barks, meows, squawks, or makes other sounds continuously for over ten minutes, or intermittently for over 20 minutes, and creates a noise disturbance across a real property boundary in a residential zone.
(5) Loading and unloading. Loading, unloading, opening, closing, or other handling of boxes, crates, containers, building materials, garbage cans, or similar objects, between the hours of 10:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m. the following day, or in such a manner as to cause a noise disturbance across a real property boundary in a residential zone. Garbage collection by the City of Bethany Public Works Department shall not be considered a noise disturbance as it is necessary for the protection of the health and safety of the public.
(6) Construction. Operating or permitting the operation of any tools or equipment used in construction, drilling or demolition work between the hours of 10:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m. the following day on weekdays or at any time on Saturdays, Sundays, or legal holidays, such that the sound or vibration therefrom creates a noise disturbance across a real property boundary in a residential zone, except for emergency work of public service utilities. This provision does not apply to domestic power tools in use on an owner’s property.
(7) Condominiums and apartments. The making, continuing or causing to be made or continued, any noise disturbance, or plainly audible sound, in another occupied space within any condominium, apartment, duplex, or similar unit within the real property boundary.
(8) Motor vehicle horns and signaling devices. The sounding of horns or other signaling devices on or in any motor vehicle or motorcycle on any public right-of-way or public property, except as a warning of danger as defined in the Oklahoma Statutes. Motor vehicle theft alarms and emergency sirens on authorized vehicles are exempt from this provision.
(9) Motor vehicle theft alarms. The sounding of any motor vehicle or motorcycle theft alarms that does not automatically and completely silence after five minutes.
(10) Domestic power tools. Operating or permitting the operation of any mechanically powered saw, drill, sander, grinder, lawn or garden tool, snow blower, leaf blower, or similar device used outdoors in residential zones between the hours of 9:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m. the following day.
(F) Emergency exception. The provisions of this section shall not apply to the emission of sound for the purpose of alerting persons to the existence of an emergency, or to the emission of sound in the performance of emergency work. Nor shall this section prevent the necessary testing of emergency sound reproduction devices in order to ascertain their functionality, including but not limited to emergency sirens, tornado sirens, and emergency broadcast systems. Nothing in this section shall be construed to permit law enforcement, ambulance, fire or other emergency personnel to make sound beyond that absolutely necessary in the performance of their duties.
(G) Maximum permissible sound pressure levels. No person shall operate, or permit to be operated, on private property any source of sound in such a manner as to create a sound pressure level which exceeds the limits set forth for the receiving land use category in Table 1, which may be measured at or within the real property boundary of the receiving land use. If the receiving land use has multiple categories, the most restrictive category shall be used.
Receiving Land Use Category | Maximum Permissible Sound Pressure level (dBA) | |
Day | Night | |
Residential, public property, educational/ institutional, agricultural | 55 | 50 |
Commercial | 70 | 65 |
Industrial | 80 | 75 |
(H) Corrections for character of sound. For any source of sound emitting a continuous pure tone, or cyclically varying sound, or repetitive impulsive sound, the maximum sound pressure level set forth above shall be reduced by five dB.
(I) Sound level meters. Sound level meters used to ascertain compliance with this section shall be at a minimum Type 2 meters as determined by ANSI (American National Standards Institute). Such meter shall be equipped with one-half inch diameter free-field microphones. The meters shall have A- and C-weighting for different frequencies. The meter shall have a noise floor of 35 dB, or less. Sound level meters shall be calibrated before and after use with a 1,000 Hz Class 2 calibrator.
(J) Real time analyzers. Any suitable smart phone or tablet (iPhone, iPad, Android, and the like) may be used as a real time analyzer to record, store, and recover actual levels of sound to demonstrate intervals of time and to provide data to demonstrate the number of times a particular sound level was reached during the measurement period.
(Prior Code, § 9-701) (Am. Ord. 2037, passed 9-20-22; Am. Ord. 2041, passed 10-18-22) Penalty, see § 10.99