HomeMy WebLinkAbout2012LL5.pdfProposed Local Law 5 of 2012
Village of Cayuga Heights
ARTICLE 36
Noise Ordinance
Section I Purpose and Intent
The purpose and intent of this Local Law is to preserve the public health,
peace, comfort, repose, welfare, safety and good order by suppressing the
making, creation or maintenance of excessive, unnecessary, unnatural, or
unusually loud noises which are prolonged, unusual or unnatural in their
time, place and use or which are detrimental to the environment.
Section II Title
This Local Law shall be known and may be cited as the “Village of Cayuga
Heights Noise Ordinance.”
Section III Definitions
When used in this Local Law, the following words and phrases will have the
following meanings:
A. ADULT PERSON- A person who is at least 16 years old.
B. DAYTIME HOURS- The hours beginning at 7:00am local time
on any day and ending at 9:00pm local time.
C. EMERGENCY WORK- Work made necessary to restore
property to a safe condition following a public calamity, or
work necessary to protect persons or property from an
imminent exposure danger.
D. IMPULSIVE SOUND - A sound lasting of a short duration,
usually less than one second, and of high intensity with an
abrupt onset and rapid decay.
E. MOTOR VEHICLES- Includes, but is not limited to,
automobiles, trucks, buses, motorcycles, mopeds, minibikes and
any other vehicle as defined by the Vehicle and Traffic Law of
the State of New York, as it may be amended from time to time.
F. NIGHTTIME HOURS- The hours beginning at 9:00pm local
time on any day and ending at 7:00am, local time on the
following day.
G. PERSON- Includes the singular and plural and also any
individual , any property owner and/or lessee, any firm,
corporation, political subdivision, government agency,
association or organization including but not limited to officers,
directors, employees, agents and/or independent contractors
thereof, or any legal entity.
H. RESIDENTIAL ZONE- Any portion of the Village located
within either the Village’s Residential District or Multiple
Housing District as defined in the Village of Cayuga Heights
Zoning Ordinance. “Residential Zone” also includes any special
land use district or planned development zone defined by such
ordinance wherein one of the principal land users is residential.
If the Zoning Ordinance is amended or replaced and as a result
additional zoning districts are added or denominated differently,
the term “Residential Zone” as used in this Local Law shall
mean those zoning districts in which the predominant intended
land use is residential.
I. SOUND AMPLIFYING EQUIPMENT- Any machine or
device used for the amplification of the human voice,
instrumental music or any other sound. Sound-amplifying
equipment shall not include standard automobile sound systems
when used and heard only by the occupants of the motor
vehicle in which such automobile sound system is installed. As
used in this chapter, sound-amplifying equipment shall not
include warning devices on authorized emergency vehicles or
horns or other warning devices on any vehicle used only for
traffic safety purposes, or authorized fire horns or other
authorized emergency alarms.
J. VILLAGE- All the geographical area that is the corporate limits
of the Village of Cayuga Heights.
K. UNREASONABLE NOISE- Any excessive or unusually loud
sound which either annoys, disturbs, injures or endangers the
comfort, repose, health, peace or safety of a reasonable person
of normal sensitivities, or which causes injury to animal life or
damages to property or business.
Section IV Unreasonable Noise Prohibited
No person shall intentionally cause public inconvenience, annoyance, or
alarm, or recklessly create a risk thereof, by making unreasonable noise or
by causing unreasonable noise to be made.
A. For the purpose of implementing and enforcing the standard set
forth in this section, factors to be considered in determining
whether unreasonable noise exists in a given situation include,
but are not limited to, any or all of the following:
1. The intensity of the noise.
2. The duration of the noise.
3. The intensity of the background noise, if any.
4. The zoning district within which the noise emanates and
all zoning districts that lie within 500 feet of the source of the
sound.
5. The time of the day or night the noise occurs.
6. The proximity of the noise to sleeping facilities.
7. Whether the noise is continuous or impulsive.
8. The existence of complaints concerning the noise from one
or more persons who are affected by the noise.
9. Whether the nature of the noise is usual or unusual.
10. Whether the noise is due to a natural or human-made
activity.
Section V Unlawful Noise Sources
The provisions of Article IV shall be employed to complement and
supplement the other provisions of this Local Law and shall be interpreted
and applied in accordance with and in addition to, and not in lieu of, those
other provisions.
A. Radios, Television Sets, Computers and Other Sound-
Producing or Amplifying Devices.
1. It shall be unlawful for any person within any Residential
Zone, or within 500 feet of a Residential Zone, to use or
to operate any radio or receiving set, musical instrument
(including drums), phonograph, television set, computer
or any other machine or device for the producing or
reproducing of sound or any other sound-amplifying
equipment in a loud, annoying or offensive manner such
that noise form the device interferes with the comfort,
repose, health or safety of members of the public or
recklessly creates a risk thereof, within any building or,
outside of a building, at a distance of 25 feet or more
from the source of such sound or interferes with the
conversation of members of the public who are 25 feet or
more from the source of such sound.
2. For the purposes of this Section V(A), the term “person”
will more specifically mean:
a. For an offense that occurs on any public property
where permission was obtained to use that public
property, a “person” shall include the person or persons
who obtained permission to utilize that property for that
event.
b. For an offense that occurs on private property, a
“person” shall include any adult person or persons who
live in or on the property that is involved in the offense.
B. Security, Fire and any Other Sound Producing Alarm System
1. It shall be unlawful for any person within any Residential
Zone, or within 500 feet of a Residential Zone, to have
their security, fire, or any other type of alarm system
equipped with sound-amplifying equipment capable of
producing a loud, annoying or offensive noise repeatedly
create such noise in a manner that interferes with the
comfort, repose, health or safety of members of the
public or recklessly creates a risk thereof, within any
building or, outside of a building, at a distance of 25 feet
or more from the source of such sound or interferes with
the conversation of members of the public who are 25
feet or more from the source of such sound.
2. For the purpose of this Section IV(B), the term
“repeatedly” shall mean more then two (2) times within
an eight (8) consecutive hour time period. It will be
considered a new offense if the alarm repeatedly
produces noise again after the first notification to the
Village Police Department.
3. For the purpose of this SectionV(B), the term “person”
will more specifically mean:
a. For an offense that occurs on any public property where permission
was obtained to use that public property, a “person” shall include the person
or persons who obtained permission to utilize that property for that event.
b. For an offense that occurs on private property, a “person” shall
include any adult person or persons who live in or on the property that is
involved in the offense.
C. Construction and Other Machinery
1. During nighttime hours it shall be unlawful for any person
within a Residential Zone, or within 500 feet of a
Residential Zone, to operate or cause to be operated any pile
driver, steam shovel, pneumatic hammer, derrick, steam or
electric hoist, electric or pneumatic drill, front-loaded
garbage collection vehicles performing commercial pickups,
or other commercial industrial equipment, except to perform
emergency work.
2. If any domestic power or hand tool, including, but not
limited to, mechanically powered saws, sanders, grinders,
and lawn and garden tools, is operated during nighttime
hours, no person shall operate such machinery so as to cause
noise within a residential building or across a residential real
property boundary where such noise interferes with the
comfort, repose, health or safety of members of the public
within any building or, outside of a building, at 25 feet or
more from the source of the sound. Side- and rear-loaded
garbage collection vehicles, and garbage collection vehicles
that do not have compactors, may be operated for residential
pickup beginning at 6:00am local time as long as they do not
create noise within a residential building or across a
residential real property boundary where such noise
interferes with the comfort, repose, health or safety of
members of the public within any building or, outside of a
building, at 25 feet or more from the source of the sound.
D. Parties and Other Social or Fund-Raising Events or Gatherings
1. It shall be unlawful for any person in charge of a party or
other social or fund-raising event or gathering that occurs on
any private or public property to allow that event to produce
noise in a loud, annoying or offensive manner, or recklessly
create the risk thereof, such that noise from the event
interferes with the comfort, repose, health or safety of
members of the public within any building or, outside of a
building, at a distance of 25 feet or more from the source of
such sound. It shall also be unlawful for any participant in
that event to contribute to such noise.
2. For the purposes of this section, a “person in charge of a
party or other social or fund-raising event or gathering”:
a. That occurs on any public property shall include the
person or persons who obtained permission to utilize
that property for that event.
b. That occurs on private property shall include the
person who owns the premises involved and any
adult person who lives in or on the premises
involved in such party or social event.
c. For any violation of this Section V(D) that occurs
where beer is being served from a keg on the
premises, the person to whom the keg is registered
also shall be presumed to be responsible for the
violation, in addition to any person designated in
subsection (a) or (b) above.
E. Mufflers
1. It shall be unlawful for any person to discharge into the open
air the exhaust of any steam engine, stationary internal-
combustion engine, air-compressor equipment, motor
vehicle or other power device, which is not equipped with an
adequate muffler in constant operation and properly
maintained to prevent any unreasonable noise or noise
disturbance, and no such muffler or exhaust system shall be
modified or used with a cutoff, bypass or similar device
which causes said engines, vehicles or other power devices
to create an unreasonable noise.
F. Shouting.
1. It shall be unlawful for any person to shout, yell, call, hoot,
whistle or sing on public streets or in public places, in such a
manner or for such a period of time, as to be unreasonable
under the circumstances.
G. Animals
1. Any person who owns, harbors or is the custodian of a dog
in the Village of Cayuga Heights is subject to the noise and
other requirements in Local Law No.1 of the Year 1980 of
the Village of Cayuga Heights Laws & Ordinances titled
“Dog Control Law,” and upon violation thereof shall be
subject to the penalties set forth in that Local Law.
Section VI Violations and Penalties
A. Enforcement of violations
1. Enforcement may be facilitated by, but shall not be
dependent upon, complaint by a resident of the Village to
the Village Code Enforcement Officer or Village Police
Officer, or any other law enforcement officer. Any police
officer or peace officer or any person who may be lawfully
designated by the Village Board shall have the authority to
issue appearance tickets in connection with any violation in
this Local Law.
B. Penalties for violations
1. A violation of this Local Law is hereby declared to be an
offense, with conviction of a first offense punishable by a
minimum fine of $50.00 and not to exceed a fine of $500 or
imprisonment not to exceed 15 days, or both. For conviction
of a second or subsequent offense which was committed
within a period of five years from the commission of the
prior offense, a violator shall be subject to a minimum fine
of $100.00 and not to exceed $1,000 or imprisonment not to
exceed 15 days, or both. With respect to continuous
emissions of sound, each day of such emission shall
constitute a separate violation.
2. In addition, persons who violate this Local Law shall be
liable for a civil penalty of $500 for a first violation and
$1,000 for a second or subsequent violation which was
committed within a period of five years from the
commission of the prior violation. With respect to
continuous emissions of sound, each day of such emission
shall constitute a separate violation. The Attorney for the
Village or his or her designee may commence an action or
special proceeding against the violator in a court of
component jurisdiction to collect these penalties, together
with costs, disbursements and recoverable attorneys’ fees,
and/or to compel compliance with this chapter or restrain by
injunction any such violation.
3. Each such act which either continues or is repeated more
than ½ hour after issuance of a written notice of violation of
this Local Law shall be a separate offense and shall be
prosecuted as such.
C. Liability of owner
1. The owner of any real property (except public highways,
and other publicly owned facilities) from which property
sounds prohibited by this Local Law emanate shall be guilty
of a violation of this Local Law, whether or not such owner
was on the premises or occupied the premises when the
proscribed sounds emanated from the same.