It shall be unlawful for any person to willfully make or continue, or cause to be made or continued, any loud, unnecessary, or unusual noise which disturbs the peace or quiet of any neighborhood or which causes discomfort or annoyance to any reasonable person of normal sensitiveness residing or present in the area. The standards which shall be considered in determining whether a violation exists shall include but not be limited to the following:
(a) Noise that causes the maximum sound level at any point on property lines surrounding the premises on which noise is produced to exceed the ambient background noise, including traffic noise, by five decibels on the A-weighted scale measured at the same point, or the following limits, whichever is greater, except as provided under section 93.02 of this Chapter:
ADJACENT LAND USE
Land Use Category | Residential a/b | Commercial a/b | Industrial a/b |
Residential | 55/50 | 55/50 | 55/50 |
Commercial | 55/50 | 60/55 | 70/65 |
Industrial | 55/50 | 60/55 | 70/65 |
NOTE: “a” represents the hours between 6:00 a.m. and 8:00 p.m. “b” represents the hours between 8:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m. | |||
(b) The sound level at the boundary line between land use areas shall not exceed the average of the maximum permitted sound level for each such area noted above.
(c) One of the following corrections may be applied to the limits and corrections noted under subsection (a) only between the hours of 6:00 a.m. and 8:00 p.m.:
Frequency of Occurrence | Correction (in Decibels) |
Noise occurring not more than fifteen minutes per hour | +5 |
Noise occurring not more than five minutes per hour | +10 |
Noise occurring not more than one minute per hour | +15 |
Any period of time within the hour less than one minute | +20 |
(d) In the event that the ambient noise level on the adjacent commercial or residential properties exceeds any of the first four noise level categories in subsection (c), the intrusive noise level limit for the cumulative period applicable to the category shall be increased to reflect the ambient noise level.
('76 Code, § 10-1-9) (Ord. 372, passed 1-12-78; Am. Ord. 2015-009, passed 12-17-15) Penalty, see § 10.99