(A) Definition. For the purpose of this section, the following definition shall apply unless the context clearly indicates or requires a different meaning.
AMPLIFIED SOUND. Any sound using amplifying equipment, whose source is outside or whose source is inside and the sound propagates to the outside or to other dwellings or interior locations under separate ownership or occupancy.
(B) Application. An application for a permit for amplification of sound shall be submitted to the town at least 15 working days in advance of the planned use except in an emergency. The application shall designate an individual person who shall be in control of the sound amplification equipment and ensure that its use complies with the terms of the permit.
(C) Notice of tentative approval. Upon tentative approval, the applicant for a permit shall be responsible for mailing or otherwise delivering to the occupants of each property within a 1,000-foot radius of the facility for which the permit has been granted, as shown on the tax maps of the county, a notice stating the date and hours of the event. The notice shall be delivered at least 72 hours in advance of the event. The permit shall not actually be granted and issued until the applicant submits an affidavit to the town that such notices have actually been mailed or otherwise delivered.
(D) Limits on hours. No permit shall be issued which shall have the effect of allowing more than 20 hours of excess amplification per year at any place of public entertainment having a capacity of 1,000 or more persons or ten hours of excess amplification at any other location. Permits shall be tentatively approved and subsequently granted by the Police Department in the order of receipt unless permits for 20 or more hours have previously been issued for the same or other locations within a 1,000-foot radius of the facility in the same calendar year, in which event the applicant shall elect whether to limit his request so as to keep the year's accumulated hours of excess amplification in that location below 20 hours or select another location.
(E) Denial; issuance of exceptional permit. If an applicant has been denied a permit under this section and believes the denial is illegal by virtue of applicable state or federal law, he or she shall promptly submit a copy of the denied permit application together with a short statement of the reasons he or she believes he or she is entitled to a permit to the Town Manager or his or her designee. The Town Manager or his or her designee shall have the discretion to grant an exceptional permit waiving location or time requirements, upon his or her determination that the applicant has made a substantial showing of legal entitlement. Any such exceptional permit shall be promptly reported to the City Council.
(Ord. passed 2-9-2009; Am. Ord. passed 11-28-2011; Am. Ord. passed 10-26-2015)