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This subchapter is adopted pursuant to the authority granted to the Board of Commissioners in G.S. § 153A-133 and for the purpose of regulating the production or emission of noises or amplified speech, music, or other sounds that tend to annoy, disturb, or affect the health and well-being of the citizens of the county.
(Ord. passed - -; Ord. passed 6-6-2014)
(A) It shall be unlawful for any person or group of persons, regardless of number, to willfully make, continue, or cause to be made or continued any loud, raucous, and disturbing noise, which term shall mean any sound which, because of its volume level, duration, and character, annoys, disturbs, injures, or endangers the comfort, health, peace, or safety of reasonable persons of ordinary sensibilities within the limits of the county. The term LOUD, RAUCOUS, AND DISTURBING NOISE shall be limited to loud, raucous, and disturbing noises heard upon the public streets, in any public park, in any school or public building or upon the grounds thereof while in use, in any church or hospital or upon the grounds thereof while in use, upon any parking lot open to members of the public as invitees or licensees, or in any occupied residential unit which is not the source of the noise or upon the grounds thereof.
(B) Penalty. Violation of this section shall be punishable as a Class 3 misdemeanor, and any person convicted of the violation shall be subject to punishment as provided in G.S. § 14-4. Each day a violation continues shall be deemed a separate offense, and shall be subject to monetary fines and injunctive relief as provided in § 91.99 herein.
(Ord. passed - -; Ord. passed 6-6-2014; Ord. passed 3-21-2022)
Before initiating a civil or criminal proceeding pursuant to this subchapter, the county, its officers, and staff members, and/or the County Sheriff, shall have the option of requesting the complaining party to sign a sworn statement of the alleged offense and to require the cooperation of the complaining party in court appearances arising from the complaint. Nothing contained in this subchapter shall obligate the county, its officers, and staff members, and/or the County Sheriff, to pursue civil or criminal proceedings hereunder where the complaining party is unwilling to sign the sworn statement and cooperate in court appearances arising therefrom.
(Ord. passed - -; Ord. passed 6-6-2014)
Specifically exempted from this subchapter are the following:
(A) All noise generated in the normal day-to-day operations of any otherwise lawful commercial, industrial enterprise or government facility (provided that the noise may only occur between the hours of 7:00 a.m. and 11:00 p.m.), or in the usual and customary activities of civic or community organizations, including holiday observances and any other occasional or ceremonial activities.
(B) All noise generated in the normal day-to-day operations of any otherwise lawful farm.
(C) All noise that would otherwise be considered a loud, raucous or disturbing noise generated by the use of a firearm by the owner, licensee or invitee on the property, provided either:
(1) Said use occurs between the hours of 7:00 a.m. and 11:00 p.m. and is otherwise lawful; or
(2) Said use was essential, in the person's reasonable estimation, for the purpose of lawfully defending person or property from attack, or for disposing of or destroying certain destructive animals, fowl, birds, reptiles or insects that are a menace to public health and have become a nuisance upon the person's premises.
(Ord. passed - -; Ord. passed 12-4-2006; Ord. passed 6-6-2014)
JUNKYARD CONTROL
The purpose and intent of this subchapter is to support and complement the various land use ordinance enacted in the county by the adoption of policies and regulations concerning the use and maintenance of junkyards for the following purposes:
(A) To promote the safety, health, welfare, and convenience of and enjoyment of travel on and the protection of the public investment along the primary and secondary roads within the county;
(B) To prevent unreasonable distraction of operators of motor vehicles and to prevent interference with the effectiveness of traffic regulations;
(C) To keep the county attractive and promote the prosperity, economic well-being, and general welfare of the county;
(D) To preserve and enhance the natural scenic beauty of areas in the vicinity of the primary and secondary roads;
(E) To achieve responsible economic growth in areas of the county compatible with growth and development in nearby areas; and
(F) To protect the public from health nuisances and safety hazards by controlling vectors, concentrations of volatile or poisonous materials, and sources of danger to children.
(Ord. passed 1-8-1990; Ord. passed 6-6-2014)
For the purpose of this subchapter, the following definitions shall apply unless the context clearly indicates or requires a different meaning.
AUTOMOBILE GRAVEYARD. Any establishment or place of business which is maintained, used, or operated for storing, keeping, buying, or selling wrecked, scrapped, ruined, or dismantled motor vehicles or motor vehicle parts and shall include any establishment or place of business upon which five or more unlicensed, used motor vehicles which cannot be operated under their own power, are not being restored to operable condition or are kept or stored for a period of 15 days or more.
FARM. Singularly or jointly owned land parcel or contiguous parcels on which agricultural operations are conducted as the primary use. Agricultural operations include, but are not limited to, cultivation of crops, the husbandry of livestock, and forestry.
GARAGE. Any establishment or place of business which is maintained and operated for the primary purpose of making mechanical and/or body repairs to motor vehicles, and which may store as many as five motor vehicles that are not capable of being driven under their own power and are not being restored to operable condition, regardless of length of time that individual motor vehicles are stored or kept at the property.
HEALTH or SAFETY NUISANCE. A motor vehicle, used machinery, or other used materials may be declared a health nuisance or safety hazard when it is found to be:
(1) A breeding ground or harbor for mosquitoes or other insects, snakes, rats, or other pests;
(2) A point of collection for pools or ponds of water;
(3) A point of concentration of gasoline, oil, or other flammable or explosive materials;
(4) So located that there is a danger of the vehicle falling or turning over;
(5) A source of danger for children through entrapment in areas of confinement that cannot be opened from the inside or from exposed surfaces of metal, glass, or other rigid material; and/or
(6) A point of concentration of car radiators, batteries, or other materials that pose either immediate or long-term environmental degradation.
JUNK. Old or scrap copper, brass, rope, rags, batteries, paper, trash, rubber, refrigerators, stoves, household appliances, salvaged building materials, salvaged machinery parts, dismantled or wrecked automobiles, or parts thereof, iron and steel and other scrap ferrous or non-ferrous material.
JUNKED MOTOR VEHICLES. A vehicle that does not display a current license plate and that:
(1) Is partially dismantled or wrecked;
(2) Cannot be self-propelled or moved in the manner in which it originally was intended to move; or
(3) Is more that five years old and appears to be worth less than $100.
JUNKYARD. Any establishment, commercial or noncommercial, place of business, or place which is maintained, operated, or used for storing, keeping, buying, or selling junk or for maintenance or operation of an automobile graveyard. An establishment or place of business which stores or keeps for a period of 15 days or more materials within the meaning of "junk" as defined in this subchapter which had been derived or created as a result of industrial or commercial activity shall be deemed to be a junkyard within the meaning of this subchapter. A JUNKYARD is created when 600 square feet or more of "junk materials" are kept on a site. Materials enclosed in closed buildings, solid waste containers, or rolling stock are excluded.
JUNKYARD CONTROL ACT. G.S. §§ 136-141 through 136-155 which delegate to the State Department of Transportation the responsibility to regulate "junkyards" and "automobile graveyards" located on interstate and federal-aid primary system highways.
MOTOR VEHICLE. Any machine designed or intended to travel over land by self-propulsion or while attached to any self-propelled vehicle.
PRIMARY ROADS or PRIMARY SYSTEMS. The portion of connected highways as more officially designated or as may hereafter be so designated as PRIMARY ROADS or PRIMARY SYSTEMS by the State Department of Transportation or other appropriate authority.
PUBLIC ROAD. Any road or highway which is now or hereafter designated and maintained by the State Department of Transportation as part of the State Highway System.
RECYCLING CENTER. A temporary or permanent site at which glass, aluminum cans, paper, plastic, clothes, to similar materials commonly collected for recycling are collected and moved off site or kept on site in buildings, storage bins, solid waste containers, truck trailers, and other rolling stock.
RESIDENCE. A house, an apartment, a group of homes, or a single room occupied or intended for occupancy as separate living quarters for one or more humans.
SCHOOL. Any public or private institution for the teaching of children under 18 years of age which is recognized and approved by the State Board of Education or other appropriate licensing board.
SECONDARY ROADS. All roads, paved or unpaved, accepted for maintenance by the State Department of Transportation, other than "interstate systems" and "primary system."
SERVICE STATION. Any establishment which is maintained and operated for the purpose of making retail sales of fuels, lubricants, air, water, and other items for the operation and routine maintenance of motor vehicles, and/or for making mechanical repairs, servicing and/or washing of motor vehicles, and which is used to store not more than five motor vehicles that are not capable of being driven under their own power and are not being restored to operable conditions, regardless of the length of time that individual motor vehicles are stored or kept at the property.
UNZONED AREA. An area where no zoning is in effect.
VECTORS. Any organism that carries disease-causing microorganisms from one host to another (e.g., rats, mosquitoes, and the like).
VISIBLE. Capable of being seen without visual aid by a person of normal acuity.
(Ord. passed 1-8-1990; Ord. passed 6-6-2014)
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