A. It is unlawful for any person, at any location within the city, to operate or cause to be operated, any source of sound or to allow the creation of any noise which causes the noise level when measured inside a dwelling unit to exceed any of the categorized noise level standards as set forth in the following table:
NOISE LEVEL STANDARDS, dBA | |||
Category | Cumulative Number of minutes in any one-hour time period | Evening and Daytime 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. | Nighttime 7 p.m. to 6 a.m. |
1 | 5 | 45 | 35 |
2 | 1 | 50 | 40 |
3 | 0 | 55 | 45 |
B. In the event the measured ambient noise level without the alleged offensive source in operation exceeds an applicable noise level standard in any category above, the applicable standard or standards shall be adjusted so as to equal the ambient noise level.
C. Each of the noise level standards specified above shall be reduced by five dB for pure tone noises, noises consisting primarily of speech or music, or four recurring impulsive noises.
D. If the intruding noise source is continuous and cannot reasonably be discontinued or stopped for a time period whereby the ambient noise level without the source can be measured, the noise level measured while the source is in operation shall be compared directly to the noise level standards.
E. If the source of noise is of an impulse or voluntary nature such as shouting, loud conversation, playing or operation of audio and video equipment and is audible in a dwelling unit, the noise level in the above table shall conclusively be determined to be exceeded. (Prior code § 5090.6)