Any use permitted by this Zoning Code is subject to compliance with the performance standards set forth in this section. No use hereafter established shall exceed the limits set forth in this section, except as provided in this Zoning Code.
(a) Noise. No operation or activity shall be carried out in any zoning district, which operation or activity causes or creates measurable noise levels exceeding the maximum sound pressure levels prescribed in this section, as measured on or beyond the boundary lines of such district. A sound level meter and an octave band analyzer shall be used to measure the intensity and frequency of the sound or noise levels encountered by day and/or by night. Sounds with very short duration, which cannot be accurately measured with a sound level meter, shall be measured by an impact noise analyzer, and the maximum levels below may be exceeded by no more than five (5) decibels. Where questions on noise arise, the current standards recognized by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development shall apply.
(1) The maximum permitted sound pressure levels, in decibels, are as follows:
Octave Band (cycles per second) (H2) | Day | Night |
00 to 74 | 76 | 70 |
75 to 149 | 70 | 62 |
150 to 299 | 64 | 56 |
300 to 599 | 57 | 49 |
600 to 1,199 | 51 | 44 |
1,200 to 2,399 | 45 | 39 |
2,400 to 4,799 | 38 | 33 |
4,800 and above | 36 | 31
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For purposes of this Zoning Code, impact noises shall be considered to be those noises whose peak values are more than seven (7) decibels higher than values indicated on the sound level meter.
(2) The maximum permitted sound pressure levels, in decibels (post-1960 preferred frequencies), are as follows:
Center Frequency (cycles per second) (H2) | Day | Night |
31.5 | 77 | 72 |
63 | 73 | 68 |
125 | 67 | 62 |
250 | 62 | 57 |
500 | 55 | 50 |
1,000 | 51 | 46 |
2,000 | 44 | 39 |
4,000 | 37 | 32 |
8,000 | 33 | 28
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A scale level (for monitoring purposes) dB(A) where street traffic noises directly adjacent to the boundary line exceed these maximum permitted levels, the intensity levels permitted may then exceed those levels specified in the tables but may not exceed the level of the subject adjacent street traffic noises. In addition, sounds of an intermittent nature or characterized by high frequencies, which sounds the Building Superintendent deems to be objectionable in adjacent districts, shall be controlled so as not to generate a nuisance in adjacent districts, even if the decibel measurement does not exceed that specified in such tables.
(b) Dust, Soot, Dirt, Fly Ash and Products of Wind Erosion. No person shall operate or cause to be operated or maintained any process for any purpose, a furnace or a combustion device for the burning of coal and/or other natural or synthetic fuels without maintaining and operating, while using the process, furnace, or combustion device, recognized and approved equipment, means, methods, devices or contrivances to reduce the quantity of gas-borne or air-borne solids carried in fumes emitted, directly or indirectly, into the open air, to a concentration level (per cubic foot of the carrying medium at a temperature of five-hundred (500) degrees Fahrenheit) not exceeding two-tenths (0.20) grains. These standards are not intended to apply to residential uses, such as chimneys for a fireplace or wood/coal burning stoves.
For the purpose of determining the adequacy of such devices, these conditions shall be conformed to when the percentage of excess air in the stack does not exceed fifty percent (50%) of the full load. The foregoing requirements shall be measured by the ASME Test Code for dust separating apparatus. All other forms of dust, dirt and fly ash shall be completely eliminated insofar as escape or emission into the open air is concerned. The Building Superintendent may require such additional data as deemed necessary to show that adequate and approved provisions for the prevention and elimination of dust, dirt and fly ash have been made.
(c) Smoke. No person shall discharge into the atmosphere, from any single source of emission, excepting smoke from a chimney for a fireplace or wood/coal burning stove in a residential structure, any smoke of a density or equivalent capacity which exceeds, for any period of time, the density designated as No.1 on the Ringelmann Chart, except when the emission consists of only water vapors, or the shade or appearance of which is equal to, but not darker than No. 2 of the Ringelmann Chart, for a period, or periods, aggregating four (4) minutes in any thirty (30) minutes. The Ringelmann Chart, as published by the United States Bureau of Mines, which chart is hereby made a part of this Zoning Code by reference, shall be the standard. However, the umbrascope readings of smoke densities may be used when correlated with the Ringelmann Chart.
(d) Vibration. Machines or operations which cause vibration shall be permitted, but no operations shall be permitted to produce ground transmitted oscillations which cause a displacement exceeding that specified in the following tables and/or as measured at the property line. These vibrations shall be measured with a seismograph or accelerometer, preferably the former.
For purposes of this section, steady state vibrations are vibrations which are continuous, or vibrations in discrete impulses more frequent than sixty (60) per minute. Discrete impulses which do not exceed sixty (60) per minute shall be considered impact vibrations.
(1) The minimum permitted steady state vibration, in inches, is as follows:
Frequency (cycles per second) | Permitted Vibration |
10 and below | 0.0010 |
10 to 19 | 0.0008 |
20 to 29 | 0.0005 |
30 to 39 | 0.0003 |
40 and above | 0.0001
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(2) The maximum permitted impact vibration, in inches, is as follows:
Frequency (cycles per second) | Permitted Vibration |
10 and below | 0.0020 |
10 to 19 | 0.0015 |
20 to 29 | 0.0010 |
30 to 39 | 0.0005 |
40 and above | 0.0002
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Between 8:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m. of the following day, all maximum vibration levels, as measured at the boundary line of residentially used areas adjacent to non-residentially zoned districts, shall be reduced to one-half (½) the indicated permissible values by those activities causing the vibration.
(e) Odor. The emission of noxious, odorous matter in such quantities as to be readily detectable at a point along any property line, when diluted in a ratio of one (1) volume of odorous air to four (4) or more volumes of clean air, so as to produce a public nuisance or hazard beyond lot lines, is prohibited.
(f) Glare, Heat and Light. Any operation producing intense glare or heat (such as or similar to arc welding or acetylene torch cutting), which emits harmful rays, shall be performed within an enclosure so as to completely obscure and shield such operation from direct view from any point along the lot lines and as not to create a public nuisance or hazard along such lot lines, except during the period of construction of the facilities to be used and occupied. Bare bulbs used in or near a residentially used area shall be not greater than ten (10) watts. Within five-hundred (500) feet of a residentially zoned area, bare bulbs which are visible in the residential area may not exceed fifteen (15) watts. Exterior lighting shall be so installed that the surface of the source of light shall not be visible from the nearest residential district boundary and it shall be so arranged to reflect light away from any residential use. In no case shall more than one (1) foot-candle power of light cross a lot line five (5) feet above the ground. In no case shall more than ten (10) foot- candle power of light exist at any given point on site. Illumination levels shall be measured with a foot-candle meter or sensitive photometer and expressed in foot-candles. Exterior spot lighting or other illumination shall be so installed as to eliminate any nuisance to adjoining Business and Industrial Districts or the creation of a traffic hazard on public highways.
(g) Fire and Safety Hazards. The storage and handling of flammable liquids, liquefied petroleum gases, and explosives, ranging from free or active burning to intense burning, as determined by the Fire Chief, and highly toxic and highly radioactive materials shall comply with all State rules and regulations; regulations as established by the Fire Prevention Act, Act 207 of the Public Acts of 1941, as amended (MCLA 29.1 et seq.); the Flammable and Combustible Liquids Code (pursuant to Act 154 of the Public Acts of 1974, as amended); 29 CFR 1910.106; NFiPA prevention codes; and the requirements of the State Fire Marshal. Further, such materials or products, if stored, utilized, or produced within completely enclosed buildings or structures, shall have incombustible exterior walls and meet the requirements of the Building Code. All such buildings or structures shall be set back at least forty (40) feet from lot lines and all such buildings or structures shall be protected throughout by an automatic sprinkler system complying with installation standards prescribed by NFiPA prevention codes. Further, all exterior above- ground storage tanks for flammable liquid materials, liquefied petroleum gases, explosives and highly toxic and highly radioactive materials shall be located at least one-hundred- fifty (150) feet from all property lines and shall be completely surrounded by earth embankments, dikes and other types of retaining walls which will contain the total capacity of all tanks so enclosed. Below-ground bulk storage tanks of flammable liquids shall be located not closer to the property line than twice the depth to the bottom of the buried tank.
(h) Open Fires. No person operating a permitted use shall cause to be burned any combustible refuse in an open outdoor fire.
(i) Sewage Wastes. No industrial sewage wastes shall be discharged into sewers, which wastes will cause a chemical reaction, either directly or indirectly, with the materials of the pipe or other structure so as to impair the strength or durability of sewer structures; cause mechanical action that will destroy or damage the sewer structures; cause restriction of the hydraulic capacity of sewer structures; cause placing of unusual demands on the sewage treatment equipment or process; cause limitation of the effectiveness of the sewage treatment process; cause danger to public health and safety; or cause obnoxious conditions inimical to the public interest. Specific conditions controlling sewage wastes are as follows:
(1) The acidity or alkalinity shall be neutralized within an average pH range of between five and one-half (5.5) to seven and one-half (7.5) as a daily average on a volumetric basis, with a permissible temporary variation in pH from four and one-half (4.50) to ten (10.0).
(2) The wastes shall contain no cyanides. Wastes shall contain no chlorinated solvents in excess of one-tenth (0.1) parts-per-million (ppm); no fluorides in excess of ten (10) ppm; not more than five (5.0) ppm of hydrogen sulphide; and not more than ten (10.0) ppm of chromates.
(3) The wastes shall not contain any insoluble substance in excess of ten-thousand (10,000) ppm; exceed a daily average of five-hundred (500) ppm; fail to pass a No. 8 standard sieve; or have a dimension greater than one-half (½) inch.
(4) The wastes shall not have chlorine demand greater than fifteen (15) ppm.
(5) The wastes shall not contain phenols in excess of five-hundredths (0.05) ppm.
(6) The wastes shall not contain any grease, oil or oily substance in excess of one- hundred (100) ppm or a daily average of twenty-five (25) ppm.
(7) The wastes shall not contain any explosive substance.
(8) The wastes shall not contain any toxic or irritating substance which will create conditions hazardous to public health and safety.
(9) The discharge of mercury from any single source shall be prohibited.
In addition, specific conditions controlling sewage wastes are regulated under the City of Detroit Ordinance No. 129-H, Chapter 56, Article 6, entitled “Regulate Discharge of Industrial or Commercial Waste Into Wastewater Treatment System of City of Detroit;” the Federal Water Pollution Control Act of 1972 and Public Law 92-500; Act 245 of the Public Acts of 1929, as amended (MCLA 323.1 et seq.); and all requirements of the Department of Public Health, the Department of Natural Resources, and the Department of Environmental Quality, including the National Pollution Discharge Elimination System Permit No. MI 0022802.
(j) Gases. The escape of or emission of any gas which is injurious, destructive or explosive is unlawful and may be summarily caused to be abated. Sulphur dioxide gas, as measured at the property line at ground elevation, shall not exceed an average of three-tenths (0.3) ppm; hydrogen sulfide shall not exceed one (1.0) ppm; fluorine shall not exceed one-tenth (0.1) ppm; nitrous fumes shall not exceed five (5.0) ppm; and carbon monoxide shall not exceed fifteen (15.0) ppm, all as measured as the average intensity during any twenty-four (24) hour sampling period.
(k) Radio Transmissions; Explosives and Radioactive Materials. For electronic equipment required in an industrial operation, the equipment shall be shielded so that its operation will not interfere with radio, television or other electronic equipment. All explosives and radioactive materials shall be stored and/or used in a manner which does not endanger abutting properties. Radioactive materials and wastes, and including electromagnetic radiation such as X-ray machine operation, shall not be emitted to exceed quantities established as safe by the U.S. Bureau of Standards, when measured at the property line. All transportation, including by rail, of radioactive materials, hazardous waste and toxic waste shall be within permissible standards set by the Federal government. Applicable regulations of the Federal Communications Commission regarding electromagnetic radiation are made a part of this Zoning Code by reference.
(l) Drifting and Air-Borne Matter. The drifting or air-borne transmission beyond the lot line of dust, particles or debris from any open stockpile is unlawful and shall be summarily caused to be abated.
(m) Nuisances. A person or industry shall not discharge from any source whatsoever such quantities of air contaminants or other materials which cause injury, detriment or nuisance to the public; which endanger the comfort, repose, health or safety of the public; or which cause or have a natural tendency to cause injury or damage to business or property.
(n) Compliance With Other Governmental Regulations. Any use permitted in any zoning district must also comply with all applicable Federal, State, County and City health and pollution laws and regulations with respect to noise, smoke and particulate matter, vibration, noxious and odorous matter, glare and heat, fire and explosive hazards, electromagnetic radiation and drifting and air-borne matter.
(Res. 98-340A. Passed 9-21-98.)