Source: https://ecode360.com/8676945
Timestamp: 2018-12-18 13:58:58
Document Index: 797085062

Matched Legal Cases: ['§ 75', '§ 75', '§ 75', '§ 75', '§ 75', '§ 75', '§ 75', '§ 75', '§ 75', '§ 75', '§ 75', '§ 75', '§ 75', '§ 75', '§ 75', '§ 75', '§ 75', '§ 75', '§ 75', '§ 27', '§ 111', '§ 13']

City of Rochester, NY Noise
§ 75-1 Legislative determination.
§ 75-2 Legislative intent.
§ 75-4 Excessive noise prohibited.
§ 75-5 Sound reproduction devices for commercial or advertising purposes.
§ 75-6 Sound reproduction devices on public conveyances.
§ 75-7 Use of signaling devices.
§ 75-8 Emergency signal devices.
§ 75-9 Motor vehicles.
§ 75-10 Construction activities.
§ 75-11 Noise-sensitive zones.
§ 75-12 Sound reproduction devices used for miscellaneous purposes.
§ 75-13 Loading and unloading of boxes and containers.
§ 75-14 Animals.
§ 75-15 Noise abatement compliance with City contractors.
§ 75-17 Provisions to be cumulative.
§ 75-18 Inconsistent provisions.
§ 75-20 Administration and enforcement.
§ 75-21 Filing of depositions by citizens.
New Laws (131) Index Notes
[HISTORY: Adopted by the Rochester City Council 10-23-1973 by Ord. No. 73-564. This ordinance also repealed former Chapter 75, Noise, adopted 11-25-1941, as amended. Amendments noted where applicable.]
Dog control — Ch. 31.
Commercial travelers and solicitors — See Ch. 62.
The Council determines that the making and creating of excessive noise within the limits of the City of Rochester is a condition which has existed for some time and the extent and volume of such noise is increasing.
The Council further determines that noise on streets, sidewalks, public parks or places is most likely to interfere with the peace and quiet of the inhabitants of the City and to injure human, plant and animal life, property and business.
The Council further determines that schools, churches, courts, hospitals, nursing home and homes for the aged are places where special precaution must be taken in order to ensure their proper functioning.
The Council further determines that construction activities, sound reproduction devices for miscellaneous purposes, loading and unloading of boxes and containers, and animals and birds are among the most frequent causes of annoying and disturbing noise.
The City of Rochester hereby intends to prohibit all excessive noise from all sources subject to its police power in order to preserve, protect and promote the public health, safety and welfare and the peace, quiet, comfort and repose of the inhabitants of the City and visitors thereto and to prevent injury to human, plant and animal life, property and business, to foster the convenience and comfort of its inhabitants and facilitate the enjoyment of the natural attractions of the City.
Editor's Note: Former Subsection B, which stated that this chapter was to be supplementary to and a part of the noise control program being considered at the time, was repealed 2-8-1983 by Ord. No. 83-36.
The unit of sound measurement, on a logarithmic scale, of the ratio of the magnitude of a particular sound pressure to a standard reference pressure which for the purpose of this chapter shall be 0.0002 microbar.
[Amended 2-8-1983 by Ord. No. 83-36]
[Added 2-8-1983 by Ord. No. 83-36]
Any individual, partnership, company, corporation, association, firm, organization, governmental agency, administration or department or any other group of individuals, or any officer or employee thereof.[1]
A device intended primarily for the production or reproduction of sound, including but not limited to any radio receiver, television receiver, tape recorder, musical instrument, phonograph or sound amplifying system.
Editor's Note: The former definition of "sound level meter," which immediately followed this definition, was repealed 2-8-1983 by Ord. No. 83-36.
[Amended 9-6-2005 by Ord. No. 2005-278]
No person shall make, continue, cause, or suffer or permit to be made or continued, and the owner and the person in control of a motor vehicle and the person in control of a premises shall not suffer nor permit to be made or continued, any excessive noise. It shall be prima facie evidence of a violation of this section if noise emanating from any source, including, but not limited to, voices or other sounds caused or emitted by humans, is:
Sources or activities regulated by §§ 75-7, 75-8, 75-9, 75-10, 75-12, 75-13 and 75-15 of this chapter, and §§ 27-9A and 31-5 of the Municipal Code.
Festivals, parades, block parties and other special events where a permit has been obtained from the Office of Special Events for such purpose.
Any permitted athletic competition or recreational event held on athletic fields, stadiums or public places in the City.
Lawn mowers, hedge trimmers, leaf blowers, chain saws, tillers, mulchers, chippers and other devices used for the care and maintenance of lawns, yards and vegetation, between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and sunset.
Any motor vehicle used in connection with the commission of a violation of this section shall be towed in accordance with § 111-75 of the Municipal Code.
No person shall operate or use or cause to be operated or used any sound reproduction device for commercial or business advertising purposes or for the purpose of attracting attention to any performance, show or sale or display of merchandise in connection with any commercial or business enterprise, including those engaged in the sale of radios, television sets, phonographs, tape recorders, phonograph records or tapes in front or outside of any building, place or premises or in or through any aperture of such building, place or premises abutting on or adjacent to a public street, park or place or in or upon any vehicle operated, standing or being in or on any public street, park or place where the sound therefrom may be heard upon any public street, park or place or from any stand, platform or other structure or from any airplane or other device used for flying, flying over the City or on a boat or on the waters within the jurisdiction of the City or anywhere on the public streets, parks or places; provided, however, that nothing in this section shall prohibit vehicles from which ice cream products and similar products are sold from being equipped with a bell not exceeding three inches in diameter, or a set of up to four such bells, nor prohibit the use thereof by the driver of such vehicle, provided that no such bell or set of bells shall be capable of being heard from a distance greater than 400 feet and provided further that no such bells shall be used for any purpose between the hours of 9:00 p.m. and 9:00 a.m. nor be used as an ordinary warning signal at any time.
No person shall operate or use any radio, musical instrument, television, phonograph or other machine or device in or on any bus or public means of conveyance, other than taxicabs, in such manner that the sound emanating from such sound reproduction device is audible to another person.
[Added 7-14-1998 by Ord. No. 98-300]
No person shall engage in or permit any person to be engaged in construction activities which create excessive noise at the property limits of the construction site between the hours of 10:00 p.m. of one day and 7:00 a.m. of the following day on any day of the week, except as is permitted in Subsections B and C hereof.
Following the receipt of a written application for a variance from the requirements of Subsection A, the Commissioner of Neighborhood and Business Development may, within a reasonable time, grant a variance authorizing such construction activities upon the applicant's demonstration of hardship and/or practical difficulty in meeting said requirements or upon a determination that the public interest will be served by the granting of the requested variance. The Commissioner shall set any stipulations deemed necessary in the interest of the public health, safety and/or welfare at the time of granting such a variance.
[Amended 2-10-1981 by Ord. No. 81-45; 6-16-1987 by Ord. No. 87-173; 6-16-2009 by Ord. No. 2009-179]
In the case of an emergency, construction activities directly connected with the abatement of such emergency may be undertaken without obtaining a variance, for a period not to exceed 72 hours from the commencement of such activities, during which time application for a variance hereunder shall be made. In such an emergency, construction activities shall not continue after the seventy-two-hour period unless prior to the expiration of that period at least verbal approval is issued by the Commissioner or his or her authorized subordinates to continue such activities and unless written confirmation of such verbal approval is issued within four hours following the start of the next normal business day of the Department of Neighborhood and Business Development. Approval or confirmation shall not be withheld unreasonably.
[Amended 4-15-2008 by Ord. No. 2008-118]
The use of amplifiers or other sound producing instruments or equipment in connection with any religious or political activity or any permitted athletic competition or recreational event held on athletic fields, stadiums or public places in the City.
Contracts with City.
Contract. As used in this section, the term "contract" means any written agreement, purchase order or instrument whereby the City is committed to expend or does expend funds authorized by the capital or annual budget of the City, in return for work, labor, services, supplies, equipment, materials or any combination of the foregoing; however, the term "contract" shall not include:
Contracts, resolutions, indentures, declarations of trust or other instruments authorizing or relating to the authorization, issuance, award and sale of bonds, certificates of indebtedness, notes or other fiscal obligations of the City, or consisting thereof.
Employment by the City of officers and employees of the City.
Contracting agency. As used in this section, the term "contracting agency" means any board, bureau, department, commission or other agency of the government of the City, or any official thereof, who or which is authorized to and does, on behalf of the City, provide for, enter into, award or administer contracts or any other public agency which enters into, awards or administers contracts pursuant to which funds authorized by the capital budget of the City of Rochester are expended.
[Amended 9-28-1982 by Ord. No. 82-443]
A person violating any provision of this chapter shall be subject to the penalties set forth in § 13A-11 of the Municipal Code.
The provisions of any section of this chapter shall not be deemed to modify or otherwise affect or be in substitution for any provision of any other section of this chapter or other chapter of the Municipal Code of the City of Rochester, but shall be cumulative thereto.
If the provisions of this chapter are inconsistent with any other provision in the Municipal Code of the City of Rochester, or with any rule or regulation of any department, bureau or governmental agency of the City of Rochester, the provisions of this chapter shall be controlling.
This chapter shall be administered and enforced by the Chief of Police and the Neighborhood Service Centers Administrators.
[Amended 9-6-2005 by Ord. No. 2005-278; 7-15-2008 by Ord. No. 2008-254]
[Added 11-19-2002 by Ord. No. 2002-373[1]]
Any person who observes or has knowledge of a violation of this chapter may file a signed deposition, under oath, with a police officer, specifying the objectionable conduct, the date thereof, and the name and address, if known, of the alleged violator. A police officer shall investigate each complaint and, if the complaint is supported by probable cause, issue a notice of violation therefor.
Editor's Note: This ordinance also provided that after a period of one year the Mayor would provide a report to the City Council on the usage and effectiveness of citizens' depositions in noise cases.