For purposes of this subchapter, all definitions and terminology used in this subchapter shall be defined as follows:
a. Commercial Zone. The C-l, C-2, C-3, C-4, and Commercial Planned Unit District zoning districts, as established by this subchapter, as amended from time to time.
b. Daytime Hours. Any continuous period between 7:00 a.m. and 10:00 p.m. local time Sunday through Thursday and any continuous period between 7:00 a.m. and 11:00 p.m. Friday and Saturday.
c. Decibel (dB). Is a unit for measuring the volume of a sound, equal to 20 times the logarithm to the base ten of the ratio of the pressure of the sound measured to the reference pressure, which is 20 micropascals (20 micronewtons per square meter).
d. Frequency. An objective way to describe the pitch of sound.
e. Impulsive Sound. Is a sound of short duration, usually less than one second, with an abrupt onset and rapid decay. Examples of sources of impulsive sound include explosions, drop forge impacts, and the discharge of firearms.
f. Industrial Zone. The Light Industrial (L.I.) and General Industrial (G.I.) zoning districts, as established by this subchapter, as amended from time to time.
g. Light Motor Vehicles. Any motorized vehicle, including, but not limited to, automobiles, vans, motorcycles, motor-driven cycles, motor scooters, dune buggies, snowmobiles, all terrain vehicles, go carts, minibikes, and trucks with a gross vehicular weight of less than 8,000 pounds.
h. Modified and Defective Exhaust Systems. An exhaust system, in which, the original noise abatement devices have been physically altered, causing them to be less effective in reducing noise than the original device such that the noise levels are increased.
i. Nighttime Hours. Any time period which is not part of the continuous daytime hours.
j. Person. Any individual, association, partnership, firm, corporation, company, entity, or organization of any kind.
k. Plainly Audible. Sound for which the information content is unambiguously communicated to the listener, including, but not limited to, understandable spoken speech comprehension of whether a voice is raised (agitated) or normal/comprehensible musical rhythms.
l. Prominent Discrete Tone. Any sound that can be distinctly heard as a single pitch or a set of single pitches. For the purposes of this regulation, a prominent discrete tone shall exist if the one-third octave band sound pressure level in the band with the tone exceeds the arithmetic average of the sound pressure levels of the two contiguous one-third octave bands by 5 dB for center frequencies of 500 Hz and above and by 8 dB for center frequencies between 160 and 400 Hz and by 15 dB for center frequencies less than or equal to 125 Hz.
m. Property-Line Noise Source. Any source of sound that elevates the level experienced at the property line above ambient levels. The sound source is determined to be in violation when the audible sound at the property line exceeds the limits defined in this subchapter, as amended from time to time.
n. Residential Zone. The R-l, R-2, R-3, and Residential Planned Unit Development zoning districts, as established in this subchapter, as amended from time to time.
o. Sound Level Monitoring System. A town approved instrument which includes, but is not limited, possessing the following functions: a data logging of 1/1 octave band measurements in a time record with a resolution of no fewer than one per minute; tamper-resistance and weather protection; the ability to self-test with malfunction alert; periodic calibration capability; and an ability to adopt algorithms to reflect the values agreed upon in this subchapter, including the detection of “prominent discrete tones” as defined within this section. Such instrument shall be used for measurement of the intensity of sound, calibrated in decibels, and readings made on the dB scale.
p. Sound. An oscillation in pressure, particle displacement, particle velocity or other physical parameter, in a medium with the internal forces that causes compression and rarefaction of the medium. The description of sound may include any characteristic of such sound, including duration, intensity and frequency.
q. Sound Pressure. The instantaneous difference between the actual pressure and the average or barometric pressure at a given point in space, as produced by sound energy.
r. Sound Pressure Level. Twenty times the logarithm to the base 10 of the ratio of the square root of the time averaged square of the sound pressure to the reference pressure of 20 micropascals.
s. Table of Values. Except as elsewhere provided within this subchapter, no person shall cause or allow the emission of sound during daytime and/or nighttime hours from any property-line sound source located on any Residential, Commercial or Industrial land to any receiving Residential, Industrial or Commercial land which exceeds any allowable sound pressure level specified in the following table, when measured at any point within such receiving Residential or Commercial land. The following Table of Values are not based upon A-weighted, rather unweighted sound levels.
Octave Band Center Frequency
| Receiving Land (Residential or Commercial) | |
Daytime (dB-Linear, Unweighted) | Nighttime (dB-Linear, Unweighted) | |
Octave Band Center Frequency
| Receiving Land (Residential or Commercial) | |
Daytime (dB-Linear, Unweighted) | Nighttime (dB-Linear, Unweighted) | |
31.5 | 72 | 63 |
63 | 71 | 61 |
125 | 65 | 55 |
250 | 57 | 47 |
500 | 51 | 40 |
1000 | 45 | 35 |
2000 | 39 | 30 |
4000 | 34 | 25 |
8000 | 32 | 25 |
t. Traffic Sound. Sound made by a motor vehicle operated either on the public right-of-way or on private property.
(Ord. No. 1557A, § 1, 9-12-07; Ord. No. 1935, § 1, 2-13-19)