Source: http://ecode360.com/6921837
Timestamp: 2017-09-22 17:13:49
Document Index: 281689127

Matched Legal Cases: ['§ 136', '§ 136', '§ 136', '§ 136', '§ 136', '§ 136', '§ 136', '§ 136', '§ 136', '§ 136', '§ 136', '§ 136', '§ 136', '§ 136', '§ 136', '§ 136']

Township of Little Falls, NJ Noise
§ 136-2 Applicability.
§ 136-3 Exemptions.
§ 136-4 Enforcement officers.
§ 136-5 Measurement protocols.
§ 136-6 Maximum permissible sound levels.
§ 136-7 Sound-production devices.
§ 136-8 Restricted uses and activities.
§ 136-9 Motor vehicles.
§ 136-10 Enforcement; violations and penalties.
§ 136-11 Construal of provisions.
Chapter 136: Noise
[HISTORY: Adopted by the Township Council of the Township of Little Falls 12-28-2015 by Ord. No. 1233.[1] Amendments noted where applicable.]
Attachment 1 Table III
Editor’s Note: The ordinance also repealed former Ch. 136, Noise, adopted 12-18-1995 by Ord. No. 753 as Sec. 3-2 of the 1995 Revised General Ordinances, as amended.
Chapter 136 : Noise
The sound level as measured using the C weighting network with a sound level meter meeting the standards set forth in ANSI S1.4-1983 or its successors. The unit of reporting is dB(C). The C weighting network is more sensitive to low frequencies than is the A weighting network.
An employee of a municipality, county or regional health commission that has a Department-approved model noise control ordinance and the employee has not received noise enforcement training as specified by the Department in N.J.A.C. 7:29; however, he or she is knowledgeable about his or her model noise ordinance and enforcement procedures. A noise control investigator may only enforce sections of the ordinance that do not require the use of a sound level meter. The employee must be acting within his or her designated jurisdiction and must be authorized to issue a summons.
Either the vertical boundary that separates one parcel of property (i.e., lot and block) from another residential or commercial property; the vertical and horizontal boundaries of a dwelling unit that is part of a multi-dwelling-unit building; or on a multi-use property as defined herein, the vertical or horizontal boundaries 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, or if there is an outdoor sound source such as an HVAC unit on the same parcel of property, the boundary line is the exterior wall of the receiving unit). Note: This definition shall not apply to a commercial source and a commercial receptor which are both located on the same parcel of property (e.g., a strip mall).
Community service facilities (i.e., nonprofits and/or religious facilities).
Except as provided in §§ 136-8 and 136-9 below, the provisions of this chapter shall not apply to the exceptions listed at N.J.A.C. 7:29-1.5.
Construction and demolition activities are exempt from the sound level limits set forth in Tables I and II and III except as provided for in § 136-8 below.
Sound measurements made by a noise control officer shall conform to the procedures set forth at N.J.A.C. 7:29-2, except that interior sound level measurements shall also conform to the procedures set forth in Subsection B of this chapter and with the definition of "real property line" as contained herein.
No person shall cause, suffer, allow, or permit the operation of any source of sound on any source property listed in § 136-2A above in such a manner as to create a sound level that equals or exceeds the sound level limits set forth in Tables I, II or III[1] when measured at or within the real property line of any of the receiving properties listed in Tables I, II or III except as specified in § 136-5B.
Editor's Note: Table III is included as an attachment to this chapter.
Commercial Facility1 or Nonresidential Portion of a Multi-Use Property
No person shall cause, suffer, allow, or permit the operation of any sound-production device in such a manner that the sound crosses a property line and raises the total sound levels above the neighborhood residual sound level by more than the permissible sound level limits set forth in Table IV when measured within the residence of a complainant according to the measurement protocol in § 136-5B of this chapter. These sound level measurements shall be conducted with the sound level meter set for C weighting, fast response.
Weeknights 10:00 p.m. — 7:00 a.m.
Weekend nights 11:00 p.m. — 9:00 a.m.
6dB (C)
Excluding emergency work, power tools, home maintenance tools, landscaping and/or yard maintenance equipment used by a residential property owner or tenant shall not be operated between the hours of 8:00 p.m. and 8:00 a.m., unless such activities can meet the applicable limits set forth in Table I, II or III. At all other times the limits set forth in Table I, II or III[1] do not apply. All motorized equipment used in these activities shall be operated with a muffler and/or sound-reduction device.
Excluding emergency work, power tools, landscaping and/or yard maintenance equipment used by nonresidential operators (e.g., commercial operators, public employees) shall not be operated on a residential, commercial, industrial or public (e.g., golf course, parks, athletic fields) property between the hours of 6:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m. on weekdays, or between the hours of 6:00 p.m. and 8:00 a.m. on weekends or federal holidays, unless such activities can meet the limits set forth in Table I, II or III. At all other times the limits set forth in Table I, II or III do not apply. All motorized equipment used in these activities shall be operated with a muffler and/or sound-reduction device.
All construction and demolition activity, excluding emergency work, shall not be performed between the hours of 6:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m. on weekdays, or between the hours of 6:00 p.m. and 8:00 a.m. on weekends and federal holidays, unless such activities can meet the limits set forth in Table I, II or III. At all other times the limits set forth in Table I, II or III do not apply. All motorized equipment used in construction and demolition activity shall be operated with a muffler and/or sound-reduction device.
Motorized snow removal equipment shall be operated with a muffler and/or a sound-reduction device when being used for snow removal. At all other times the limits set forth in Table I, II or III do not apply.
Self-contained, portable, nonvehicular music or sound-production devices.
Nonresidential self-contained, portable, nonvehicular music or sound-production devices shall not be operated on a public space or public right-of-way in such a manner as to be plainly audible at a distance of 50 feet in any direction from the operator between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 10:00 p.m. Between the hours of 10:00 p.m. and 8:00 a.m., sound from such equipment operated on a public space or public right-of-way shall not be plainly audible at a distance of 25 feet in any direction from the operator;
On residential property self-contained, portable, nonvehicular music or sound-production devices shall not be operated in such a manner as to be plainly audible at a distance of 50 feet in any direction from the operator between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 10:00 p.m. On Friday, Saturday and Sunday between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 11:00 p.m., sound operated from such equipment shall not be plainly audible at a distance of 25 feet in any direction from the operator.
Domesticated or caged animals.
If the violation is deemed by the noise control officer or noise control investigator to be a minor violation (as defined in § 136-1 of this chapter), a NOV shall be issued to the violator.
The NOV shall identify the time period (up to 90 days), pursuant to the Grace Period Law, N.J.S.A. 13:1D-125 et seq. where the responsible party's/violator's voluntary action can prevent a formal enforcement action with penalties issued by the NCO or NCI. It shall be noted that the NOV does not constitute a formal enforcement action, a final agency action or a final legal determination that a violation has occurred. Therefore, the NOV may not be appealed or contested.
If the violation is deemed by the noise control officer or noise control investigator to be a non-minor violation, the violator shall be notified that if the violation is not immediately corrected, a NOPA with a civil penalty of not more than the maximum penalty allowed pursuant to N.J.S.A. 40:49-5, which is $2,000 as of December 2014, will be issued. If a non-minor violation is immediately corrected, a NOV without a civil penalty shall still be issued to document the violation. If the violation occurs again (within 12 months of the initial violation) a NOPA shall be issued regardless of whether the violation is immediately corrected or not.