(A) Short title. This section may be known and cited as the "City of Kewanee Disturbing the Peace and Noise Control Ordinance."
(B) Findings and purpose.
(1) The Kewanee City Council finds that unreasonably excessive noise degrades the environment of the city to a degree that such noise:
(a) Is harmful to the health, safety, and welfare of city residents and visitors;
(b) Interferes with the comfortable enjoyment of life and property;
(c) Interferes with the well-being, tranquility, and privacy of one's home; and
(d) Can cause and aggravate health problems.
(2) The effective control of unreasonably excessive noise is essential to the health, safety, and welfare of city residents and visitors, and fosters the comfortable enjoyment of life, including, but not limited to, recreation, work, communication, and rest.
(3) This section is enacted to protect, preserve, and promote the health, safety, welfare, peace, and quiet of residents and visitors of the city through the control, reduction, and prevention of unreasonably excessive noises that unreasonably disturb, injure, or endanger the comfort, repose, health, peace, or safety of reasonable persons of ordinary sensitivities.
(4) Nothing contained in this section is intended to infringe upon the constitutionally protected rights guaranteed by the Illinois Constitution and the First Amendment of the United States Constitution. This section enacts narrowly drawn, content-neutral regulations that are to be interpreted so as to not unduly restrict constitutionally protected rights.
(C) Definitions. For the purpose of this section, the following definitions shall apply unless the context clearly indicates or requires a different meaning:
AMPLIFIED SOUND. Sound whose volume is increased by any electric, electronic, mechanical, or motor-powered means.
A-WEIGHTED SOUND LEVEL. The sound pressure level in decibels as measured with a sound level meter using the A-weighting network as described in ANSI S1.4-1983 issued by the American National Standards Institute. The unit of measurement is the dBA.
C-WEIGHTED SOUND LEVEL. The sound pressure level in decibels as measured with a sound level meter using the C-weighting network as described in ANSI S1.4-1983 issued by the American National Standards Institute. The unit of measurement is the dBC.
DECIBEL (dB). A unit for measuring the amplitude of sound, equal to 20 times the logarithm to the base 10 of the ratio of the pressure of the sound measured to the reference pressure, which is 20 micropascals (20 micronewtons per square meter).
EMERGENCY. Any occurrence, or set of circumstances, involving actual, threatened, or imminent physical trauma or injury, natural resource damage, or property damage which demands immediate action.
Leq (EQUIVALENT SOUND PRESSURE LEVEL). The constant sound level that, in a given situation and time period, conveys the same sound energy as the actual time-varying sound.
OFFICER. Any designated employee or agent of the city whose duty it is to enforce codes and ordinances enacted by the city and may include, but shall not be limited to, law enforcement officers and code enforcement officers.
PERSON(S). Means, but is not limited to, any individual, natural person, firm, partnership, joint venture, syndicate or other group, association, corporation, estate, trust, business trust, trustee, executor, administrator, receiver, or other fiduciary, or any other entity whatsoever, or any combination of such, jointly and severally.
PERSON(S) RESPONSIBLE. Means, but is not limited to, any person who has any manner of control over a property, premises, dwelling, structure, location, business, vehicle, device, stereo, or source of sound and may include, but is not limited to, any property owner, tenant, subtenant, business owner, resident, operator or person having operational control, person(s) creating or controlling the volume of sound, manager of a commercial property, or person(s) in charge or otherwise authorized to make decisions regarding the use of sound equipment, or any combination of such, jointly and severally.
PLAINLY AUDIBLE. Any sound that can be clearly heard by a reasonable person using such person's ordinary auditory senses, so long as the person's hearing is not enhanced by any device, such as a hearing aid. The person need not determine the particular words or phrases being produced or the name of any song or artist producing the sound for the sound to be considered plainly audible. The detection of a rhythmic bass reverberating type sound is sufficient to constitute a plainly audible sound.
PROPERTY. Any private property, public property, or public right-of-way and includes the air space above.
PROPERTY LINE. Either (i) an imaginary line along the ground surface, and its vertical plane extension, which separates the real property owned, rented, or leased by a person(s) or entity from that real property owned, rented or leased by another person(s) or entity, or (ii) the vertical and horizontal boundaries of a residential dwelling unit that is contained in a building containing two or more residential units or any combination of separately leased or owned spaces.
RECEIVING PROPERTY. At or within the property line which is receiving sound from another property, but does not include public rights-of-way.
SOUND LEVEL. A sound pressure level obtained using a signal to which standard weighting has been applied.
(D) Prohibition of unreasonably excessive noise from a property entertainment area. It shall be unlawful for any person(s), including the property owner(s), to permit, cause, allow, create, emit, or sustain unreasonably excessive noise from a property, including air space thereof, located in the city and within the below described entertainment area.
(1) Definitions. For purposes of this division (D), the following additional definitions apply:
(a) ENTERTAINMENT AREA. Any property located in the area bounded on the north by the southern boundary to the BNSF railroad right-of-way, on the east by the east side of Burr Boulevard, on the west by Park Street, and on the south by the north side of Central Boulevard.
(b) UNREASONABLY EXCESSIVE NOISE FROM A PROPERTY. Sound from any property within the entertainment area, which meets or exceeds the following maximum sound levels:
1. Seventy-five dBA or 77 dBC between the hours of 7:00 a.m. and 11:00 p.m., Sundays through Thursdays, or 7:00 a.m. and 12:00 midnight, Fridays and Saturdays.
2. Sixty-five dBA or 67 dBC between the hours of 11:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m., at all other times and days except as expressly provided for in division (D)(1)(b)1. above.
(2) Determining dBA or dBC under this division (D). In determining the dBA or dBC sound level under this division, a measurement shall be taken from the property line of the property generating the sound, or from the individual lease boundary of the property generating the sound in the case of property which has been subdivided by the execution of individual leases. The equivalent (Leq) decibel measurement taken at 30 seconds shall not exceed the maximum sound levels set above.
(3) Sound level measurement standards. All sound level meters used to enforce the provisions of this division (D) shall be calibrated and serviced in accordance with the manufacturer's instructions. All sound level meters used to enforce the provisions of this division (D) shall be operated in accordance with the manufacturer's instructions.
(E) Prohibition of unreasonably excessive noise from a property - all other areas. It shall be unlawful for any person(s), including the property owner(s), to permit, cause, allow, create, emit, or sustain unreasonably excessive noise from a property, including air space thereof, located in the city and not within the entertainment area described in division (D) of this section.
(1) Definitions. For purposes of this division (E), the following additional definitions apply:
(a) UNREASONABLY EXCESSIVE NOISE FROM A PROPERTY. Sound from any property not located within the entertainment area described in division (D) of this section, which is unreasonably loud and raucous as defined below.
(b) UNREASONABLY LOUD AND RAUCOUS. Any sound that, because of its volume level or duration, jars, injures, or endangers the health, safety, welfare, or well-being of a reasonable individual of ordinary sensibilities.
(2) Violation at any time. An officer may issue a civil citation or notice of violation for unreasonably excessive noise from a property if the officer has probable cause to believe the noise is unreasonably loud and raucous after considering the following:
(a) Whether the sound is plainly audible within a fully enclosed structure or residence located on the property of a person making a complaint;
(b) Whether the sound is causing vibration, rattles, thumping, or pulsating within a fully enclosed structure or residence located on the property of a person making a complaint;
(c) Whether the duration of the sound jars, injures, or endangers the health, safety, welfare, or well-being of a reasonable individual of ordinary sensibilities; and
(d) Whether the sound is recurrent, intermittent, or continuous in a manner that jars, injures, or endangers the health, safety, welfare, or well-being of a reasonable individual of ordinary sensibilities.
(3) Violation based upon sworn complaint. An officer may issue a civil citation or notice of violation upon receiving a sworn complaint from a person for unreasonably excessive noise from a property, if the officer has probable cause to believe the noise is unreasonably loud and raucous based on the sworn complaint and after considering any of the following:
(a) The time of day a complaint about unreasonably excessive noise occurs;
(b) The duration of the sound;
(c) The number and history of relevant complaints from the same residence or structure;
(d) The distance from the source of the sound;
(e) The number of person(s) affected by the sound;
(f) The proximity of the sound to residential sleeping facilities;
(g) The ability of a witness to hear the sound and testify about the complaint;
(h) The corroboration by sworn statement(s) of witness(es) to the sound other than, and in addition to, the primary affiant;
(i) The availability of audio/video recording of the sound;
(j) The totality of circumstances, including the factors delineated in division (E)(2)(a) through (d) of this section; and
(k) Whether the sound is a listed exemption pursuant to division (G) of this section.
(4) Prima facie evidence. For the purposes of this division (E) of this section, the following shall constitute prima facie evidence that a sound (whether recurrent, intermittent, or continuous) is unreasonably loud and raucous if:
(a) Between the hours of 11:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m., the sound is plainly audible a minimum of 100 feet from the property line of the source of the sound at or within a fully enclosed structure or residence on any receiving property; or
(b) The sound meets or exceeds 73 dBA or 75 dBC between the hours of 7:00 a.m. and 11:00 p.m., or 65 dBA or 67 dBC between the hours of 11:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m. Sound level measurements shall be obtained in accordance with the provisions of divisions (D)(2) and (D)(3) of this section.
(G) Exemptions. The provisions of this section shall not apply to:
(1) The operation of warning or emergency signal devices such as sirens, horns, alarms, and bells, including those generated from railroad crossings and trains as required by law, when utilized for their intended purpose or in cases of emergency.
(2) Sounds resulting from equipment or operations incidental to the installation, maintenance, or repair of facilities or restoration of services, such as public utilities work or other emergency work in the public interest.
(3) The operation of equipment or conduction of activities common to residential or agricultural communities, including, but not limited to, lawn care; soil cultivation; lawn mowers; maintenance of trees, shrubs, hedges, and gardens; tree trimming; limb chipping; domestic power tools; saws and tractors; street sweepers; mosquito fogging; and other community operations, between the hours of 7:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m.
(4) The operation of equipment or conduction of activities for city approved refuse and recyclable waste collection, between the hours of 6:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m.
(5) Construction activities between 7:00 a.m. and 9:00 p.m., for which building permits have been issued, or for construction activities not requiring permits due to the scope of work or ownership of the project by a governmental agency; provided all equipment is operated in accordance with the manufacturer's specifications and with all standard equipment, manufacturer's mufflers, and noise-reducing equipment in use and in good operating condition.
(6) Sounds emanating from bona fide farm operations on land classified as agricultural land, which is exempt from local regulation.
(7) Residential air conditioners and residential swimming pool equipment.
(8) Sounds made by dogs, birds, and other animals, which are regulated by Chapter 91 of the Kewanee City Code.
(9) Activities in the fields, grounds, or facilities of any schools, sporting arena, stadium, or sports complex to which the public or community has access.
(10) Sounds generated from any event, when a permit has been obtained from the city prior to such event, and such sounds are in compliance with any conditions imposed by that permit. This provision shall include, but not be limited to, any parade, road festival, fireworks displays, or special event.
(H) Waivers. The City Council may vote to temporarily suspend or modify any and all of the prohibitions contained in this section when it finds that emergency circumstances, including, but not limited to those resulting from natural disaster(s), exist or when a permit has been granted for a special event pursuant to division (G)(11) of this section.
(I) Enforcement and penalties. The authority to enforce the provisions of this section shall be vested in the Kewanee Police Department. Nothing in this section shall prohibit the Police Department from charging persons responsible for acts, which affect the peace and quiet of other persons, for breach of the peace or disorderly conduct under § 132.01, as may be amended from time to time. This section shall be enforced by an officer as follows:
(1) Any person(s) responsible for a violation of divisions (D) or (E) of this section may be given a citation of unreasonably excessive noise.
(2) Any person(s), including the property owner(s), who violates any of the provisions of this section shall be subject to a penalty in the amount of $150 for a first violation, and $500 for any subsequent violation occurring within one year after a finding of violation of the previous offense or a plea of no contest or guilty. Each violation of this section shall constitute a separate and distinct offense for which a civil citation or notice of violation may be issued.
(3) Joint and several responsibility. Any person(s) responsible for unreasonably excessive noise from a property or from a vehicle, as defined herein, may be liable for the violation under this section. More than one person may be found to be responsible for the violation.
(4) Unreasonably excessive noise is declared a public nuisance. The prosecution of an offense under this section does not limit the city's right to abate the public nuisance, or from seeking injunctive relief, by any means provided by law. The City Attorney or designee(s) may bring suit on behalf of the city against the person(s) responsible for causing, maintaining, permitting, or allowing a public nuisance under this section. This section shall not prohibit or otherwise restrict any person(s) from bringing suit against a public nuisance for unreasonably excessive noise.
(‘71 Code, § 7-1-15) (Ord. 4051, passed 5-10-21)