(A) Compliance required. No land or building in any district shall be used or occupied in any manner so as to create any dangerous, injurious, noxious or otherwise objectionable fire, explosive or other hazard; noise or vibration; smoke, dust, odor or other form of air pollution; heat, cold, dampness, electrical or other substance, condition or element in such a manner, or in such an amount, as to adversely affect the surrounding area of adjoining premises; provided that, any use permitted or not expressly prohibited by this chapter may be undertaken and maintained if it conforms to the regulations of this section limiting objectionable elements at the point of the determination of their existence.
(B) Points of measurement. The determination of the existence of any objectionable elements shall be made at the location of the use creating the same and at any points where the existence of these elements may be more apparent; provided, however, that, the measurements necessary for enforcement of performance standards set forth in this section shall be taken at property line boundaries.
(C) Health and safety emission standards. The following provisions, standards and specifications shall apply.
(1) Fire and explosion hazards. All activities involving, and all storage of inflammable and explosive materials shall be provided at convenient places, with adequate safety devices against the hazard of fire and explosion and adequate firefighting and fire suppression equipment and devices standard in the industry. Burning of waste materials in open fires shall be prohibited at any place. The relevant provisions of state and local laws and regulations shall also apply.
(2) Radioactivity or electric disturbances. No activities shall be permitted which emit dangerous radiation at any point, or electrical disturbance adversely affecting the operation at any point of any equipment other than that of the creator of the disturbance. Radioactive emissions shall be further subject to applicable federal regulations.
(3) Noise.
(a) At the points of measurement, the sound pressure level of noise radiated from a facility at night time, during the hours of 10:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m., shall not exceed 50 decibels (sound pressure level decibels re 0.0002 dynes/cm) or the average sound level of the street traffic noise nearest the noise generator, whichever is the higher, in any octave band of frequency above 300 cycles per second. The sound pressure level shall be measured with a sound level meter (American Standard Sound Level Meters for Measurement of Noise and Other Sounds, 224.3 - 1944) and an octave band analyzer (American Standard Specification for an Octave-Band Filter Set for the Analysis of Noise and Other Sounds, 224.10 - 1953) that conform to the specifications published by the American Standards Association. Noise shall be so muffled or otherwise controlled as not to become objectionable due to intermittence, beat frequency, impulsive character (hammering and the like), periodic character (humming, screech and the like) or shrillness.
(b) For facilities which radiate noise only during a normal daytime working shift, the allowable decibel level given above shall be increased 20 decibels, or ten decibels above the average sound level of the street traffic noise nearest the noise generator, whichever is the higher. Sirens, whistles, bells and the like which are maintained and utilized solely to serve a public purpose (such as fire and air raid warning sirens) are excluded from the above regulations.
(4) Vibration. No ground vibration shall be permitted which is discernible without instruments on property owned by another party.
(5) Smoke. No emission shall be permitted at any point, from any chimney or otherwise, of visible gray smoke of a shade equal to or darker than No. 2 on the Power’s Micro-Ringelmann Chart (published by McGraw-Hill Publishing Company, Inc., and copyrighted 1954, being a direct facsimile reduction of the standard Ringelmann chart as issued by the U.S. Bureau of Mines), except that visible gray smoke of a shade equal to No. 3 of that chart may be emitted for four minutes in any 30 minutes. These provisions applicable to visible gray smoke shall also apply to visible smoke of a different color but with an apparently equivalent capacity.
(6) Odors. Odors must be in compliance with State Pollution Control Agency standards.
(7) Fly ash, dust, fumes, vapors, gases and other forms of air pollution. No emission shall be permitted which can cause any damage to health, to animals, vegetation or other forms of property, or which can cause any excessive soiling, at any point; any solid or liquid particles in concentrations exceeding 0.3 grains per cubic foot of the conveying gas at any point. For measurement of the amount of particles in gases resulting from combustion, standard corrections shall be applied to a stack temperature of 500°F and 50% excess air.
(8) Glare. No direct or sky-reflected glare, whether from floodlights or from high-temperature processes such as combustion or welding or otherwise, so as to be visible at the points of measurement shall be permitted. This restriction shall not apply to signs otherwise permitted by the provisions of this chapter.
(9) Heat. Every use and activity shall be so operated that it does not raise the ambient air temperature on property owned by another party more than 1°F.
(10) Liquid or solid wastes. No discharge at any point into any public sewer, private sewage disposal, stream or into the ground, except in accord with standards approved by the State Department of Health or standards equivalent to those approved by that Department for similar uses, of any materials of a nature or temperature as can contaminate any water supply or otherwise cause the emission of dangerous or offensive elements, shall be allowed.
(D) State standards. The State Pollution Control Standards shall take precedence over the above regulations, except where city standards are higher. Current state regulations shall be kept on file in the office of the Zoning Enforcement Officer, and shall be the determining standard in resolving questions regarding performance standards.
(E) Compliance. In order to ensure compliance with the performance standards set forth above, the Zoning Enforcement Officer, with approval of the City Manager, may require the owner or operator for any use to have made investigations and tests as may be required to show adherence to the performance standards. The investigations and tests as are required to be made shall be carried out by an independent testing organization as may be selected by the city. Where compliance is determined, incurred costs shall be divided equally between the use and the city; where a violation exists, the use shall remit full payment for all incurred costs.
(2004 Code, § 154.124) (Ord. 464, passed 1- -1996) Penalty, see § 154.999