As used in this chapter:
(a) "Acoustical calibrator" means an instrument which conforms to ANSI S1.40-1984 or its successors that is used for field calibration checks of a sound level meter.
(b) "Affected Person" means a resident of the City of Union who has registered a noise complaint with an authorized enforcement agency that he or she is the receptor of noise on a protected property category, and said affected person has an interest in the protected property category as an owner, tenant, or employee.
(c) "Ambient sound level" means that measured value which represents the summation of the sound from all of the discrete sources affecting a given site at a given time, exclusive of extraneous sounds, and those from the source under investigation. Ambient sound level is synonymous with background sound level. Ambient sounds are differentiated from extraneous sounds by the fact that the former are more steady state, although they may not be continuous.
(d) "Commercial use" property means any premises containing businesses where sales, offices, professional services, or other commercial use is legally permitted.
(e) "Commercial zone" means the established districts.
(f) "Continuous sound" means any sound with a duration of more than one second, as measured with a sound level meter set to the "slow" meter response.
(g) "dB(A)" means the A-weighted sound pressure level in decibels, as measured by a sound-level meter.
(h) "Decibel (dB)" means a relative unit for the measurement of sound pressure. It is based upon a reference pressure of 20 micropascals (zero decibels) which is the average threshold of hearing for a person with very good hearing. The decibel scale is logarithmic, and as such, an increase or decrease of 3 dB is a doubling or halving of sound pressure
(i) "Emergency work" means any work or action necessary at the site of an emergency to restore or deliver essential services including, but not limited to, repairing water, gas, electricity, telephone, sewer facilities, or public transportation facilities, removing fallen trees on public rights of way, dredging navigational waterways, or abating life threatening conditions or a state of emergency declared by a governing agency.
(j) " Extraneous sound" means a sound of high intensity and relatively short duration which is neither part of the ambient sound, nor comes from the sound source under investigation. Examples of extraneous sounds include: an unmuffled vehicle passing the measurement location; an aircraft overflight; a pedestrian talking loudly; a quick wind gust rustling leaves. Extraneous sounds are excluded from measurements of the ambient sound level and the total sound level.
(k) "Frequency" means the number of fluctuations of pressure in one second of time. The unit of measurement is cycles per second (cps) or hertz (Hz).
(l) "Impulsive sound" means a sound of short duration, usually less than one second, with an abrupt onset and rapid decay, as measured with a sound level meter set to the "fast" or "impulse" meter response. Examples of sources of impulsive sound include door slams, drop forge impacts and the discharge of firearms.
(m) "Industrial use" property means any premises where manufacturing/processing, production/shipping, or equipment/materials storage yards are legally permitted shall be considered industrial use.
(n) "Industrial zone" means the established districts.
(o) "Multi-dwelling unit building" means any building comprising two or more dwelling units, including, but not limited to, apartments, condominiums, co-ops, multiple family houses, townhouses, and attached residences.
(p) "Multi-use property" means any distinct parcel of land that is used for more than one category of activity. Examples include, but are not limited to:
(1) A commercial, residential, industrial or public service property having boilers, incinerators, elevators, automatic garage doors, air conditioners, laundry rooms, utility provisions, or health and recreational facilities, or other similar devices or areas, either in the interior or on the exterior of the building, which may be a source of elevated sound levels at another category on the same distinct parcel of land; or
(2) A building which is both commercial (usually on the ground floor) and residential property located above, behind, below or adjacent.
(q) "Noise source" means any person or animal, or any mechanical, electrical or thermal device which radiates acoustic energy.
(r) "Plainly audible" means any sound that can be detected by a person using his or her unaided hearing faculties. As an example, if the sound source under investigation is a portable or personal vehicular sound amplification or reproduction device, the detection of the rhythmic bass component of the music is sufficient to verify plainly audible sound. The noise control officer need not determine the title, specific words, or the artist performing the song.
(s) "Real property line" means either:
(1) The imaginary line including its vertical extension that separates one parcel of real property from another;
(2) The vertical and horizontal boundaries of a dwelling unit that is part of a multi-dwelling unit building; or
(3) On a multi-use property, the interface between the two portions of the property on which different categories of activity are being performed (e.g., if the multi-use property is a building which is residential upstairs and commercial downstairs, then the real property line would be the interface between the residential area and the commercial area).
(t) "Residential use" property means any property used for human habitation, unless the habitation is a condition of employment, including, but not limited to:
(1) Private property used for human habitation;
(2) Commercial living accommodations and commercial property used for human habitation;
(3) Community service property used for human habitation.
(u) "Residential zone" mean the established districts.
(v) "Sound level" means the sound pressure level measured in decibels with a sound level meter set for either A-weighting, expressed as dBA; or, set for C-weighting, expressed as dBC.
(w) "Sound level meter" means an instrument used for the measurement of sound levels that conforms to ANSI S1.4-1983 or its successors.
(x) "Sound pressure level", means 20 times the logarithm (to the base 10) of the given sound pressure to the reference sound pressure of 20 micropascals. Abbreviated SPL, and denoted as Lp
(y) "Sound pressure" means the instantaneous difference between the actual pressure and the average or varometric pressure at a given point in space as produced by sound energy.
(z) "Sound production device" means any device whose primary function is the production of sound, including, but not limited to any, musical instrument, loudspeaker, radio, television, digital or analog music player, public address system or sound-amplifying equipment
(aa) "Total sound level" means that measured level which represents the summation of the sounds from the sound source under investigation and the ambient sounds which affect a given place at a given time, exclusive of extraneous sound sources.
(bb) "Special functions" means any noncommercial public speaking and public assembly for philanthropic, political, patriotic or charitable purposes actively conducted on any public space, public right of way or private property.
(cc) "Unreasonable noise" means any sound created or caused to be created by any person which either annoys, disturbs, injures or endangers the comfort, repose, health, peace or safety of the public or which causes injury to animal life or damages to property or business.
(Ord. 1612. Passed 4-13-15.)