For the purpose of this subchapter, the following definitions shall apply unless the context clearly indicates, or requires, a different meaning.
AGRICULTURAL OR FARM EQUIPMENT OR MACHINERY. Tractors, milking equipment and storage and cooling facilities, feed-handling equipment, irrigation equipment, harvesters, choppers, grain drills and planters, tillage tools, scales, combines, spreaders, sprayers, haying equipment, including balers and cubers, and any other machinery or equipment used primarily for agricultural purposes; but does not include vehicles required to be registered with the Motor Vehicle Division, or vehicles or other equipment used for business purposes other than farming.
AMBIENT SOUND. The sound pressure level which represents the summation of the sound from all the discrete sources affecting a given site at a given time, exclusive of the source under investigation.
BEST MANAGEMENT PRACTICES OR BMPS. Auxiliary operational procedures implemented by a business or facility that effectively reduce noise levels. BMPs include, but are not limited to, scheduling of activities, prohibitions of practices, maintenance procedures, and other management practices or institutional controls that prevent or reduce noise decibel levels.
CITY. The city of West Haven.
COMMERCIAL MECHANICAL EQUIPMENT. Any non-stationary power equipment used for commercial purposes.
COMMERCIAL PROPERTY. Real property used, in whole or in part, by the owner or possessor of the property for a commercial, industrial, retail, or other business purpose, regardless of the identity of the property owner.
CONSTRUCTION. Any site preparation, assembly, erection, substantial repair, alteration, or similar action.
CONSTRUCTION EQUIPMENT. Any mechanical apparatus used in excavation, construction, or demolition.
dBA OR A-WEIGHTED SOUND PRESSURE LEVEL. The sound pressure level in decibels as measured with a sound level meter using the A-weighting network. The unit for reporting is dBA. Sounds measured with the A-weighting network approximate the response of human hearing when measuring sounds of low to moderate intensity.
DECIBEL. A logarithmic unit used in measuring the magnitude of sound. DECIBEL is abbreviated dB.
DEMOLITION. Any dismantling, intentional destruction, or removal of any right-of-way surfaces, buildings, structures, utilities, or similar properties.
DWELLING. A building or structure that is intended or designed to be used, rented, leased, let, or hired out for human habitation.
DYNAMIC BRAKING DEVICE. A device used to transform a motor vehicle’s internal combustion engine into an air compressor for the purpose of braking without the use of wheel brakes; commonly referred to as JAKE BRAKES, COMPRESSION BRAKES, or ENGINE BRAKES.
EMERGENCY POWER GENERATOR. Equipment used to generate electrical power in the event of an interruption, malfunction, or failure of the electrical power otherwise supplied by the electrical service provider.
EMERGENCY VEHICLE. A motor vehicle, motorboat, or aircraft authorized to be used for the transportation of emergency personnel, equipment, and supplies while responding to, or working, the scene of an emergency.
EMERGENCY WORK.
(1) Work required to restore property to a safe condition following a disaster or declaration of emergency.
(2) Work required to protect persons or property from an imminent exposure to danger.
(3) Work required to protect the public’s health by providing, or restoring, necessary utility services, which cannot reasonably be done otherwise during the daytime hours, whether such work is performed by private or public entities.
EXHAUST SYSTEM. All components responsible for conducting exhaust gases or reducing sound from a motor vehicle including, but not limited to, mufflers, baffles, header pipes, manifolds, air intakes, or any other similar component.
GROSS VEHICLE WEIGHT RATING OR GVWR. The value specified by the manufacturer as the recommended maximum loaded weight of a single motor vehicle. In cases where trailers and tractors are separable, the GROSS COMBINATION WEIGHT RATING (GCWR), which is the value specified by the manufacturer as the recommended maximum loaded weight of the combination of vehicles, shall be used.
HEATING, VENTILATION, AND AIR CONDITIONING (HVAC).
(1) Any system installed on, or within, a dwelling, facility, building, or structure for the purpose of providing heating, ventilation, or air conditioning.
(2) HVAC may include furnaces, air exchangers, central air condensing units, evaporative “swamp” coolers, heat pumps, exhaust fans, and other heating and cooling equipment.
IMPULSE SOUND. Sound of short duration, generally less than one second, especially of high intensity, abrupt onset and rapid decay, and often rapidly changing spectral composition.
INDUSTRIAL AREA. Those areas within the boundaries of the city used or reserved for business, commerce, or trade, or zoned as a highway service zone, under enabling state legislation or comprehensive local zoning ordinances or regulations; and including those areas outside the boundaries of the city not within 8,420 feet of an interstate highway exit, off-ramp, or turnoff as measured from the nearest point of the beginning or ending of the pavement widening at the exit from, or entrance to, the main-traveled way that are reserved for business, commerce, or trade under enabling state legislation or comprehensive local zoning ordinances or regulations, and are actually used for commercial or industrial purposes.
INFRASOUND. Any sound frequency less than, or equal to, 16 Hz.
LEQ.
(1) The average measure of continuous noise that has the equivalent acoustic energy of the fluctuating signal over the same time period.
(2) For the purposes of this subchapter, an LEQ measurement will be taken for a minimum of two minutes.
MAYOR. The Mayor of the city, or his or her designated representative.
MOTOR VEHICLE. Any vehicle required to be licensed for on-road use in the state which is propelled by a motorized power source.
MUFFLER. A properly-functioning sound dissipative device or system consisting of a series of chambers, baffle plates, or other mechanical devices for abating the sound of escaping exhaust gases.
MULTI-DWELLING UNIT BUILDING. Any building comprising two or more dwelling units, including, but not limited to, apartments, condominiums, co-ops, multiple-family houses, townhouses, and attached residences.
NOISE. Any sound that may be harmful to health.
OFF-HIGHWAY VEHICLE. Any vehicle not permitted to be licensed for on-road use in the state which is propelled by an engine.
OWNER. Any person who, alone or jointly, and severally with others:
(1) Has legal title to any premises, dwelling, or dwelling unit with, or without, accompanying actual possession thereof; or
(2) Has charge, care, or control of any premises, dwelling, or dwelling unit, as legal or equitable owner, agent of the owner, or is an executor, executrix, administrator, administratrix, trustee, or guardian of the estate of the owner.
PERSON. Any individual, public or private corporation and its officers, partnership, association, firm, trustee, executor of an estate, the state or its departments, institutions, bureaus or agencies thereof, municipal corporation, county, city, or any legal entity recognized by the law.
PORTABLE MECHANICAL EQUIPMENT. Non-stationary power equipment used for personal purposes and property maintenance.
PUBLIC AREA.
(1) Space that is generally open and accessible to people.
(2) Roads (including the pavement), public squares, parks, and beaches; to a limited extent, government buildings which are open to the public, such as public libraries, parks, and playgrounds; and space jointly used by automobiles and other vehicles, including bicyclists and pedestrians.
PUBLIC ASSEMBLY/SPECIAL EVENT. An activity regardless of whether or not a ticket or payment of any type is required for admission.
PURE TONE. Any sound that can be distinctly heard as a single pitch or a set of single pitches.
RECEIVING PROPERTY. Any adjacent property that is adversely affected by noise transmitted by the source property.
REPETITIVE IMPULSE SOUND. Any impulse sound repeated at intervals such that a sound level meter set at “fast” meter characteristic will show changes in sound pressure level greater than 10 dBA within one second.
RESIDENTIAL AREA. Real property that is occupied as a dwelling of the property owner or tenant.
SNOW REMOVAL EQUIPMENT. Any mechanical equipment used for removing snow from land or building surfaces, including, but not limited to, snow plows, snow blowers, snow sweepers, and any spreader or applicator employed to apply a snow or ice melting product.
SOUND. An oscillation in pressure, particle displacement, particle velocity, or other physical parameter in a medium with interval forces that cause compression or rarefaction of the medium.
SOUND LEVEL METER. An instrument that includes a microphone, amplifier, RMS detector, integrator, or time averager, output meter, and weighing networks used to measure sound pressure levels.
SOUND PRESSURE LEVEL.
(1) Twenty times the logarithm to the base 10 of the ratio of the RMS sound pressure to the reference pressure of 20 micropascals (20 micronewtons per square meter).
(2) The sound pressure level is denoted Lp or SPL and is expressed in decibels (dB).
ULTRASOUND. Any sound frequency higher than 20 kHz.
(Prior Code, § 8.08.020) (Ord. 27-2016, passed 12-21-2016)