(A) Permit Required. It shall be unlawful for any person, other than a law enforcement or governmental agency and/or its employees to use, or operate within the city a loudspeaker or sound-amplifying equipment in a fixed or movable position or mounted upon any sound truck for the purposes of giving instructions, directions, talks, addresses, lectures, or transmitting music to any persons or assemblages of persons in or upon any street, alley, sidewalk, park, or other public place without first obtaining an Amplified Sound Permit from the city. This prohibition includes the use of sound-amplifying equipment within buildings if the equipment produces a plainly audible noise at the property boundary of the property where the building is located. Churches, schools, hospitals and sporting events conducted under the auspices of city recreational activities are exempt from this provision.
(B) Permit Application and Fee. An application for an amplified sound permit shall be obtained from the Planning and Development Department and shall contain the following:
(1) The name, address, and telephone number of the owner and each operator or user of the sound amplifying equipment;
(2) The approximate distance for which sound will be audible from the sound-amplifying equipment;
(3) A general description of the sound-amplifying equipment which is to be used;
(4) The license and motor number of sound truck; and
(5) The dates and times of proposed use.
(C) Processing Fee. A processing fee, as established by the fee schedule adopted annually by the City Council, shall be paid to the city upon filing of Permit Application and upon each application for permit renewal.
(D) Permit Review. The Director of Planning and Development shall either approve or disapprove the application as soon as practicable, but in any event not later than 45 days from the date of filing the application and all necessary supplemental information.
(1) The failure of the Director of Planning and Development to approve the application within the time specified in this section shall result in the administrative denial of the application.
(2) The Director of Planning and Development shall promptly notify the applicant in writing of the approval or denial of the application. If the application is denied, the notice shall set forth the reasons for the denial, and any right to appeal the determination to the Zoning Board of Adjustment. If the application is approved, the Director of Planning and Development shall promptly issue a permit subject to all the conditions set forth in this section.
(E) Regulation. The permitted use of sound-amplified equipment shall be subject to the following regulations:
(1) The only sound permitted shall be limited to music or human speech, or both, and shall exclude any extraneous noise.
(2) No permit shall issue to operate any sound-amplifying equipment within 200 feet of any church, school, hospital, or nursing home. Sound-amplifying equipment operated by a church, school, hospital, or nursing home for its own use is exempt from this provision.
(3) The sound pressure level shall comply with the other provisions of this chapter, except as otherwise specified in this permit.
(4) The permittees shall not violate any other state or local law including, but not limited to, the Texas Election Code, the Texas Penal Code and the Traffic Regulations of the State of Texas.
(F) Special Events Permits. The holder of a valid Special Events Permit as provided in Chapter 100 is not required to obtain an Amplified Sound Permit for the same event.
(G) Exceptions. Person(s) operating sound-amplifying equipment for their personal use within their dwellings, businesses or automobiles are exempt from obtaining an amplified-sound permit. However, the use of said equipment by private citizens to include the playing of any radio, phonograph, television, tape player, compact disc player or other musical instrument in such manner or with such volume as to annoy or disturb the quiet, comfort, or repose of persons of ordinary sensibilities in or at any dwelling, hotel or other type of residence is hereby prohibited. The resulting sound pressure levels shall comply with the other provisions of this chapter.
(Ord. 98-05, passed 2-24-98; Am. Ord. 2001-13, passed 4-10-01.)