[HISTORY: Adopted by the Township Committee of the Township
of Blairstown 11-9-2011 by Ord. No. 2011-08. Amendments noted
where applicable.]
As used in this chapter, the following terms shall have the
meanings indicated:
Any sound that interrupts the quiet, comfort or rest of any
person of normal sensitivities in any residence, hospital, school,
place of business, street or public place.
Any sound that constitutes a disturbance.
The minimum penalty imposed for a violation of this chapter
shall be a fine of $100 for a first offense. In its discretion, the
Court may impose for a first offense a fine not to exceed $1,250 and
a period of community service not to exceed 10 days. Any person convicted
of a subsequent violation of a provision of this chapter within one
year of the date of a previous violation of the same provision shall
be subject to a minimum penalty of $500. In its discretion, the Court
may impose a fine not to exceed $1,250 and a period of community service
not to exceed 30 days for each repeat violation as defined herein.
A.
It is hereby declared to be a nuisance and it shall be unlawful for
any person, firm or corporation to make or cause or suffer or permit
to be made or caused, upon any premises owned, occupied or controlled
by him or her or it or upon any public street, alley or thoroughfare
in the Township of Blairstown, any unnecessary noises or sounds by
means of the human voice or by any other means or methods which are
physically annoying to the comfort of any person or which are so harsh
or so prolonged or unnatural or unusual in their use, time and place
as to occasion physical discomfort or which are injurious to the lives,
health, peace, repose and comfort of the inhabitants of said Township
or any member thereof.
B.
The following acts, among others, are declared to be loud, unnecessary and disturbing and a danger to the health, safety and welfare of the community and its people, in violation of § 143-2, but the enumeration shall not be deemed to be exclusive:
(1)
Sound reproduction systems. Operating, playing or permitting the
operation or playing of any radio, television, phonograph or similar
device that reproduces or amplifies sound in such a manner as to create
a noise disturbance for any person other than the operator of the
device.
(2)
Loudspeakers and public-address systems. Using or operating of any
loudspeaker, public-address system or other sound amplification device
between the hours of 9:00 p.m. and 8:00 a.m. the following day.
(3)
Animals and birds. Owning, possessing or harboring any pet animal or pet bird that frequently or for continued duration makes sounds that create a noise disturbance across a residential real property line as identified in Article IV, Animal Noise, of Chapter 62.
[Amended 6-24-2020 by Ord. No. 2020-02]
(4)
Loading and unloading. Loading, unloading, opening, closing or other
handling of boxes, crates, containers, building materials, liquids,
garbage cans, refuse or similar objects or the pneumatic or pumped
loading or unloading of bulk materials in liquid, gaseous, powder
or pellet form or the compacting of refuse by persons engaged in the
business of scavenging or garbage collection, whether private or municipal,
between the hours of 9:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m. the following day when
the latter is a weekday and between the hours of 9:00 p.m. and 9:00
a.m. the following day when the latter is a legal holiday or a weekend
day, except by permit, when the sound therefrom creates a noise disturbance
across a residential real property line.
(5)
Standing motor vehicles. Operating or permitting the operation of
any motor vehicle whose manufacturer's gross weight is in excess of
10,000 pounds, or any auxiliary equipment attached to such a vehicle,
for a period of longer than five minutes in any hour while the vehicle
is stationary, for reasons other than traffic congestion or emergency
work, on a public right-of-way or public space within 350 feet of
a residential area between the hours of 8:00 p.m. and 8:00 a.m. of
the following day.
(6)
Construction and demolition. Operating or permitting the operation
of any tools or equipment used in construction, drilling, earthmoving,
excavating or demolition work between the hours of 10:00 p.m. and
6:00 a.m. the following day on weekdays or on weekends and legal holidays
between the hours of 10:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m.
(7)
The warming up or idling of buses, trucks or tractors and the unnecessary
or unreasonable or repeated idling, acceleration and deceleration
or starting and stopping of automobiles and motorcycles within 350
feet of a residence.
(8)
Yelling, shouting, hooting, whistling or singing or the making of
loud and disturbing noises by the use of clappers, bells, horns, musical
instruments or similar devices at any time or place so as to unreasonably
annoy or disturb the quiet, comfort or rest of any person in any residence,
hospital, school, place of business, street or public place.
(9)
Operating any off-road recreational vehicle, lawnmower, snow blower,
weed trimmer or other similar noise emitting equipment and vehicles
after 9:00 p.m. so as to unreasonably annoy or disturb the quiet,
comfort or rest of any person in any residence, hospital, school,
place of business, street or public place.
C.
The provisions of this chapter shall not be applicable to the following:
(1)
Agricultural activities protected under the Right to Farm Act;
(2)
Emergency work;
(3)
Emission of sounds for the purpose of alerting persons to the existence
of an emergency;
(4)
Municipally undertaken, sponsored or approved activities, celebrations
and events, including but not limited to, public works projects, police
and fire operations and drills, and sports and recreation games and
activities;
(5)
Public service utility companies; and
(6)
Private parties. Celebrations and parties on private property: provided,
however, that loud or offensive noises that continue past midnight
shall be subject to the provisions of this chapter.
[Added 5-9-2018 by Ord.
No. 2018-10]
A.
All sanitary waste system maintenance, including pumping out of system,
must be performed by a qualified individual or company.
B.
All sanitary waste system maintenance performed at locations along
Main Street, both residential and commercial, must be performed before
8:00 a.m. on any day of the week or after 4:00 p.m. on a Sunday.
[Added 6-24-2020 by Ord. No. 2020-02]
The Township Police Department shall, in connection with its
duties imposed by law, diligently enforce the provisions of this chapter.
