[HISTORY: Adopted by the Bloomfield Board
of Health 11-9-2005 (Ch. 326, Art. II, of the 1987 Code). Amendments noted where applicable.]
The following words and terms, when used in
this chapter, shall have the following meanings, unless the context
clearly indicates otherwise. Terms not defined in this chapter have
the same meaning as those defined in N.J.A.C. 7:29.
Any site preparation, assembly, erection, repair, alteration
or similar action, including demolition of buildings or structures.
Any dismantling, destruction or removal of buildings, structures
or roadways.
The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection.
Any work or action necessary to deliver essential public
services, including, but not limited to, repairing water, gas, electricity,
telephone, sewer facilities, or public transportation facilities,
removing fallen trees on public rights-of-way, dredging navigational
waterways, or abating life-threatening conditions.
Either a single pressure peak or a single burst (multiple
pressure peaks) that has a duration of less than one second.
Any vehicle that is propelled other than by human or animal
power on land.
A properly functioning sound-dissipative device or system
for abating the sound of escaping gasses on equipment where such a
device is part of the normal configuration of the equipment.
Any building comprising two or more dwelling units, including,
but not limited to, apartments, condominiums, co-ops, multiple-family
houses, townhouses, and attached residences.
Any distinct parcel of land that is used for more than one
category of activity. Examples include, but are not limited to:
A commercial, residential, industrial or public
service property having boilers, incinerators, elevators, automatic
garage doors, air conditioners, laundry rooms, utility provisions,
or health and recreational facilities, or other similar devices or
areas, either in the interior or on the exterior of the building,
which may be a source of elevated sound levels at another category
on the same distinct parcel of land; or
A building which is both commercial (usually
on the ground floor) and residential property located above, behind,
below or adjacent.
An employee of a local, county or regional health agency
which is certified pursuant to the County Environmental Health Act
(N.J.S.A. 26:3A2-21 et seq.) to perform noise enforcement activities;
or a municipality with a Department-approved noise control ordinance
and the employee has received noise enforcement training and is currently
certified in noise enforcement. The employee must be acting within
their designated jurisdiction and must be authorized to issue a summons
in order to be considered a noise control officer.
Any sound that can be detected by a person using their unaided
hearing faculties. As an example, if the sound source under investigation
is a portable or personal vehicular sound amplification or reproduction
device, the detection of the rhythmic bass component of the music
is sufficient to verify plainly audible sound. The noise control officer
need not determine the title, specific words, or the artist performing
the song.
Any street, avenue, boulevard, road, highway, sidewalk, alley
or easement that is owned, leased or controlled by a nongovernmental
entity.
Any street, avenue, boulevard, road, highway, sidewalk, alley
or easement that is owned, leased or controlled by a governmental
entity.
Any real property or structures thereon that are owned, leased
or controlled by a governmental entity.
Either a) the imaginary line, including its vertical extension,
that separates one parcel of real property from another; b) the vertical
and horizontal boundaries of a dwelling unit that is part of a multi-dwelling-unit
building; or c) on a multi-use property, the interface 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).
Any day that is not a federal holiday, and beginning on Monday
at 7:00 a.m. and ending on the following Friday at 6:00 p.m.
Beginning on Friday at 6:00 p.m. and ending on the following
Monday at 7:00 a.m.
A.
This chapter applies to sound from the following property
categories:
C.
Sound from stationary emergency signaling devices
shall be regulated in accordance with N.J.A.C. 7:29-1.4, except that
the testing of the electromechanical functioning of a stationary emergency
signaling device shall not meet or exceed 10 seconds.
[Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 575, General
Provisions, Board of Health, Art. V)]
A.
Whereas excessive sound is a serious hazard to the
public health, welfare, safety, and the quality of life; and
B.
Whereas a substantial body of science and technology
exists by which excessive sound may be substantially abated; and
C.
Whereas the people have a right to, and should be
ensured of, an environment free from excessive sound;
D.
Now, therefore, it is the policy of The Township of
Bloomfield to prevent excessive sound that may jeopardize the health,
welfare, or safety of the citizens or degrade the quality of life.
E.
This chapter shall apply to the control of sound originating
from sources within the Township of Bloomfield.
A.
The provisions of this chapter shall be enforced by
noise control officers. A person shall be qualified to be a noise
control officer if the person meets the criteria set forth in the
definition above and completes, at a frequency specified by the Department
in N.J.A.C. 7:29-2.11, a noise certification and recertification course
which are offered by the Department of Environmental Sciences of Cook
College, Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey, or any other
noise certification or recertification course which is offered by
an accredited university and approved by the Department.
B.
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 with the procedures set forth in §§ 635-5B and C of this regulation and with the definition of "real property line" as contained herein.
C.
Noise control officers shall have the power to:
(1)
Coordinate the noise control activities of all departments
in the Township of Bloomfield and cooperate with all other public
bodies and agencies to the extent practicable;
(2)
Review the actions of the Township of Bloomfield and
advise of the effect, if any, of such actions on noise control;
(3)
Review public and private projects, subject to mandatory
review or approval by other departments or boards, for compliance
with this chapter; and
(4)
Investigate and pursue possible violations of this chapter for sound levels which equal or exceed the sound levels set forth in Tables I and II, when measured at a receiving property located within the designated jurisdiction of the noise control officer, in accordance with § 635-7.
(5)
Cooperate with noise control officers of adjacent
municipalities in enforcing one another's municipal noise ordinances.
A.
No person shall cause, suffer, allow, or permit the operation of any source of sound on any source property listed in § 635-2A above in such a manner as to create a sound level that equals or exceeds the sound level limits set forth in Tables I and II when measured at or within the real property line of any of the receiving properties listed in Tables I and II, except as specified in Subsection B below.
B.
When measuring total sound or residual sound within
a multi-use property, or within a residential unit when the property
line between it and the source property is a common wall, all exterior
doors and windows shall be closed and the measurements shall be taken
in the center of the room most affected by the noise. Residual sound
shall be measured in accordance with N.J.A.C. 7:29-2.9(b)2. When measuring
total sound or residual sound, all sound sources within the dwelling
unit must be shut off (e.g., television, stereo). Measurements shall
not be taken in areas which receive only casual use such as hallways,
closets and bathrooms.
C.
Indoor measurements shall only be taken if the sound
source is on or within the same property as the receiving property,
as in the case of a multi-use property (e.g., sound generated within
a commercial unit of a multi-use property building and received within
a residential unit of the same building) or multi-dwelling-unit building.
In addition, indoor measurements shall be taken if the property line
between the receiving property and the source property is a common
wall, such as in a multi-dwelling-unit building. The allowable sound
level standards for indoors are as shown in Tables I and II.
D.
Between 7:00 a.m. and 10:00 p.m., impulsive sound
shall not equal or exceed 80 decibels. Between 10:00 p.m. and 7:00
a.m., impulsive sound which occurs fewer than four times in any hour
shall not equal or exceed 80 decibels. Impulsive sound which repeats
four or more times in any hour shall be measured as continuous sound
and shall meet the requirements as shown in Table I.
[Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 575, General
Provisions, Board of Health, Art. V)]
|
Table I
Maximum Permissible A-Weighted Sound Levels
| |||
|---|---|---|---|
|
No person shall cause, suffer, allow, or permit the operation of any source of sound on any source property listed in § 635-2A above in such a manner as to create a sound level that equals or exceeds the sound levels listed below.
|
|
(1) Outdoors
| |||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Receiving Property Category:
|
Residential property, or residential portion
of a multi-use property
|
Commercial facility, public service facility,
nonresidential portion of a multi-use property, or community service
facility
| |
|
Time:
|
7:00 a.m. - 10:00 p.m.
|
10:00 p.m. - 7:00 a.m.
|
24 hours
|
|
Maximum A-Weighted Sound Level Standard,
dB:
|
65
|
50
|
65
|
|
(2) Indoors.
| |||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Receiving Property Category:
|
Residential property, or residential portion
of a multi-use property
|
Commercial facility* or nonresidential
portion of a multi-use property
| |
|
Time:
|
7:00 a.m. - 10:00 p.m.
|
10:00 p.m. - 7:00 a.m.
|
24 hours
|
|
Maximum A-Weighted Sound Level Standard,
dB:
|
55
|
40
|
55
|
|
*
|
In those instances when a commercial facility
shares a common wall/ceiling/floor with another commercial facility
that is producing the sound.
|
|
Table II
Maximum Permissible Octave Band Sound
Pressure Levels in Decibels
| |
|---|---|
|
1.
|
No person shall cause, suffer, allow, or permit the operation of any source of sound on any source property listed in § 635-2A above in such a manner as to create a sound pressure level that equals or exceeds the sound levels listed below in one or more octave bands.
|
|
2.
|
When octave measurements are made, the sound
from the source must be constant in level and character. If octave
band sound pressure level variations exceed plus or minus 2 dB in
the bands containing the principal source frequencies, discontinue
the measurement.
|
|
Receiving Property Category:
|
Residential property, or residential portion
of a multi-use property
|
Residential property, or residential portion
of a multi-use property
|
Commercial facility, public service facility,
nonresidential portion of a multi-use property, or community service
facility
|
Commercial facility* or nonresidential
portion of a multi-use property
| ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Outdoors
|
Indoors
|
Outdoors
|
Indoors
| |||
|
Time:
|
7 a.m. - 10 p.m.
|
10 p.m. - 7 a.m.
|
7 a.m. - 10 p.m.
|
10 p.m. - 7 a.m.
|
24 hours
|
24 hours
|
|
Octave Band Center Frequency
(Hz)
|
Octave Band Sound Pressure Level
(dB)
|
Octave Band Sound Pressure Level
(dB)
|
Octave Band Sound Pressure Level
(dB)
|
Octave Band Sound Pressure Level
(dB)
| ||
|
31.5
|
96
|
86
|
86
|
76
|
96
|
86
|
|
63
|
82
|
71
|
72
|
61
|
82
|
72
|
|
125
|
74
|
61
|
64
|
51
|
74
|
64
|
|
250
|
67
|
53
|
57
|
43
|
67
|
57
|
|
500
|
63
|
48
|
53
|
38
|
63
|
53
|
|
1,000
|
60
|
45
|
50
|
35
|
60
|
50
|
|
2,000
|
57
|
42
|
47
|
32
|
57
|
47
|
|
4,000
|
55
|
40
|
45
|
30
|
55
|
45
|
|
8,000
|
53
|
38
|
43
|
28
|
53
|
43
|
|
NOTE:
| |
|---|---|
|
*
|
In those instances when a commercial facility
shares a common wall/ceiling/floor with another commercial facility
that is producing the sound.
|
A.
B.
Notwithstanding the provisions of Tables I and II,
the following standards shall apply to the activities or sources of
sound set forth below:
(1)
Power tools and landscaping and yard maintenance equipment, excluding
emergency work, shall not be operated within the Township between
the hours of 6:00 p.m. and 8:00 a.m. on weekdays, except that such
equipment may be used by an occupant or owner of the premises between
8:00 a.m. and 8:00 p.m. on weekdays. On Saturdays, power tools and
landscaping and yard maintenance equipment shall not be operated between
6:00 p.m. and 9:00 a.m., except that such equipment may be used by
an occupant or owner of the premises between 9:00 a.m. and 8:00 p.m.
on Saturdays. On Sundays and federal holidays, power tools and landscaping
and yard maintenance equipment shall not be operated, except that
such equipment may be used by an occupant or owner of the premises
between 9:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m. Gas-powered equipment used in these
activities shall be operated with a muffler.
[Amended 10-19-2017 by BOH Ord. No. 008-2017[1]; at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 575, General Provisions,
Board of Health, Art. V)]
[1]
Editor's Note: This ordinance also repealed former Subsection
B(2), regarding hours of commercial equipment operation, and redesignated
former Subsection B(3) through (9) as Subsection B(2) through (8),
respectively.
(2)
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 9:00 a.m.
on weekends and federal holidays, unless such activities can meet
the limits set forth in Tables I and II. All motorized equipment used
in construction and demolition activity shall be operated with a muffler.
At all other times, the limits set forth in Tables I and II do not
apply to construction and demolition activities;
(3)
Motorized snowblowers, snow throwers, and lawn equipment
with attached snowplows shall be operated at all times with a muffler;
(4)
An exterior burglar alarm of a building or motor vehicle
must be activated in such a manner that the burglar alarm terminates
its operation within five minutes for continuous airborne sound and
15 minutes for impulsive sound after it has been activated;
(5)
Personal or commercial vehicular music amplification
or reproduction equipment shall not be operated in such a manner that
is plainly audible at a residential property line between the hours
of 9:00 p.m. and 9:00 a.m.;
[Amended 7-15-2021 by BOH Ord. No. 02-2021]
(6)
Personal or commercial music amplification equipment
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 9:00 a.m. and 9:00 p.m. Food-vending and ice cream trucks
are prohibited from the playing of jingles while stationary. Jingles
may only be played when the vehicle is in motion.
[Amended 7-15-2021 by BOH Ord. No. 02-2021]
(7)
Self-contained, portable, hand-held music or sound
amplification or reproduction equipment 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 shall not be plainly
audible by any person other than the operator;
A.
Violation of any provision of this chapter shall be
cause for an enforcement document to be issued to the violator by
the noise control officer according to procedures set forth at N.J.A.C.
7:29-1.7. The recipient of an enforcement document shall be entitled
to a hearing in municipal court having jurisdiction to contest such
action.
[Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 575, General
Provisions, Board of Health, Art. V)]
B.
Any person who violates any provision of this chapter
shall be subject to a civil penalty for each offense of not more than
$500. If the violation is of a continuing nature, each day during
which it occurs shall constitute an additional, separate, and distinct
offense.
[Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 575, General
Provisions, Board of Health, Art. V)]
C.
No provision of this chapter shall be construed to
impair any common law or statutory cause of action, or legal remedy
therefrom, of any person for injury or damage arising from any violation
of this chapter or from other law.
