All terminology used in this chapter, not specifically defined herein, shall be in conformance with applicable publications of the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) or its successors and/or assignee. The following words and terms, when used in this section, shall have the following meanings:
A-WEIGHED SOUND LEVEL. The sound pressure level in decibels as measured on a sound level meter using the A-weighting network. The level so read is designated dBA.
CONSTRUCTION. Any site preparation, assembly, erection, substantial repair, alteration (or similar action) of structures, utilities, public or private right-of-way or other property. Construction does not include demolition.
DECIBEL (dB). A unit for measuring the volume of sound, it is a logarithmic (dimensionless) unit of measure used in describing the amplitude of sound. DECIBAL is denoted as dB.
dBA. The A-weighted unit of sound pressure level.
DEMOLITION. Any dismantling, intentional destruction or removal of structures, utilities, public or private right-of-way surfaces, or similar property.
EMERGENCY. Any occurrence or circumstances involving actual or imminent physical injury to persons or property, which demands immediate action. It shall be the burden of the alleged violator to prove the EMERGENCY.
EMERGENCY VEHICLE. A motor vehicle, vessel, or aircraft used in response to a public emergency or to protect persons or property from imminent danger.
EMERGENCY WORK. Work necessary to restore property to a safe condition following a public calamity, work to restore public utilities, or work required to protect persons or property from an imminent exposure to danger.
EQUIVALENT. The level of a constant sound, which in a given situation and time period, has the same sound energy as does a time varying sound. The Leq is the level of the time-averaged, means square, A-weighted sound pressure, the time interval over which measurement is taken as being specified.
IMPULSIVE NOISE. A sound of short duration, usually less than one second with an abrupt onset and rapid decay. Examples of sources of IMPULSIVE NOISE, includes explosions and the discharge of firearms.
LMAX. The maximum A-weighted sound level for a given event.
LEGAL HOLIDAYS. Those recognized by the city include New Year’s Day, Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Presidents Day, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Veterans Day, Thanksgiving Day, Day After Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve, and Christmas Day or any other legally recognized holidays.
MAXIMUM SOUND LEVEL. The greatest A- weighted sound level reading obtained when measuring a source of sound during a designated time interval using the fast meter exponential integration time. Alternatively the slow meter exponential integration time may be employed or the C-frequency weighting may be employed.
MICROPASCAL. The international unit for pressure, analogous to pounds per square inch in English units; l microPascal is one millionth of a Pascal; the reference pressure used for airborne sound is 20 microPascals.
MOTORBOAT. Any vehicle which is primarily operated on water or which does operate on water, such as boats, barges, amphibious craft, or hover craft, and which is propelled by mechanical power.
MOTORIZED EQUIPMENT. Any self-propelled vehicle, such as, but not limited to, passenger cars, trucks, truck trailers, semi-trailers, campers, motorcycles, mini-bikes, go-carts, gopeds, dune buggie, all-terrain vehicles or racing vehicles which are propelled by mechanical power.
MUFFLER. Any apparatus consisting of baffles, chambers, or acoustical absorbing material whose primary purpose is to transmit liquids or gases while causing a reduction in sound emission at one end.
NOISE. Any sound which is unwanted or which causes or tends to cause an adverse psychological or physiological effect on human beings.
NOISE DISTURBANCE. Any sound that endangers the safety or health of any person, disturbs a reasonable person of normal sensitivities, or endangers personal or real property.
OCTIVE BAND SOUND LEVEL. The unweighted sound pressure level in the specified octave band.
PERSON. Any natural person, individual, association, partnership, corporation, municipality, governmental agency, business trust, estate, trust, two or more persons having a joint or common interest or any other legal entity and includes any officer, employee, department, agency or instrumentality of the United States, a state or any political subdivision of a state or any other entity whatsoever or any combination of such, jointly or severally.
POWERED MODEL VEHICLES. Any powered vehicle, either airborne, waterborne or land-borne, which are designed not to carry persons or property, such as, but not limited to, model airplanes, boats, cars, rockets, and which are being propelled by mechanical means.
PRIVATE RIGHT-OF-WAY. Any street, avenue, boulevard, highway, sidewalk, bike path, or alley, or similar place, which is not owned or controlled by a governmental entity.
PROPERTY BOUNDARY. An imaginary line exterior to any enclosed structure, at the ground surface, which separates the real property owned by one person from that owned by another person, and its vertical extension.
PUBLIC RIGHT-OF-WAY. Any street, avenue, boulevard, highway, alley, or public space, which is dedicated to owned or controlled by a public governmental entity.
PUBLIC SPACE. Any real property or structures thereon normally accessible to the public.
REAL PROPERTY BOUNDARY. The line, including its vertical extension that separates one parcel of real property from another.
RECEIVING LAND USE. The land, which is receiving the noise as designated by the City of Pembroke Pines Zoning Map (and for recently incorporated areas, the effective zoning category).
SOUND. An oscillation in pressure, particle displacement, particle velocity or other physical parameter in a medium with internal forces that cause compression and rarefaction of that medium. The description of SOUND may include any characteristic of such SOUND, including duration, intensity, and frequency.
SOUND LEVEL. The reading in decibels of a sound level meter constructed and operated in accordance with the latest edition of American National Standard Institute (ANSI) specifications for the measurement of noise and other sounds. The meter reading in decibels corresponds to the total value of the sound pressure and is ten times the logarithm to the base ten of the ratio of the A-weighted squared sound pressure to the squared reference sound pressure of 20 micro-Pa, the squared sound pressure being obtained with fast exponentially weighted time averaging. Alternatively, slow exponentially weighted time averaging or C-weighting may be specified.
SOUND LEVEL METER (SLM). An instrument used to measure sound pressure levels conforming to Type 1 or Type 2 standards as specified in the American National Standards Institute Publication 51.41971, or the latest version thereof.
SOUND PRESSURE LEVEL (SPL). Ten times the logarithm to the base ten of the ratio of the time-mean-square pressure of a sound of the reference pressure of 20 microPascals (in air) with the units of decibels.
USE. Any activity, event, operation, or facility, which creates noise.
(Ord. 1486, passed 6-16-04)