[Ord. No. 30-1994, 5-17-1994]
(a)
The City has determined, by virtue of complaints by its citizens
to the Police Department and to the City Council and by complaints
from downtown merchants and other communications from visitors to
the City, that certain conduct being undertaken, particularly within
the portions of the City described and designated in this article,
is preventing persons residing within these areas from fully enjoying
their property and having a reasonable degree of quiet, particularly
during nighttime hours.
(b)
The Council also determines that, in order to protect residents and
visitors to the City from being threatened, accosted, or verbally
assaulted upon the City streets and in public places described in
this article, it is necessary to implement and adopt an ordinance
to prevent undesirable and unwanted activities and actions, as described
in this subsection, from taking place within the City.
(c)
The Council further finds that to protect the ability for downtown
merchants to attract customers and maintain a nonthreatening environment
within the downtown, it is necessary to adopt reasonable regulations
as provided in this article.
(d)
The City Council further finds that existing state laws and regulations
presently in effect do not fully and adequately address the difficulties
experienced within the City sought to be addressed in this article
and that the prosecution of such cases, when brought by officials
not associated with the City, is sometimes, due to financial or time
constraints or other factors or policies, not sufficiently vigorous
or timely so as to meaningfully deal with the problems experienced
by the City.
[Ord. No. 30-1994, §§ 5.0-5.3, 5-17-1994; Ord. No. 34-2005, 3-15-2005]
(a)
Any violation of this article shall be a civil violation, which shall
be prosecuted through the issuance of a civil summons by the City
Police Department in the same form and in the same manner of prosecution
as would be the case with a parking violation. Actions shall be prosecuted
by the City Attorney in the County District Court located in the City.
(b)
For any first violation of this article, there shall be imposed a
civil fine or penalty in an amount of not less than $200 and not more
than $350. Each subsequent violation within a two-year period from
the date of the first violation shall carry with it said minimum civil
fine or penalty which shall increase for each subsequent conviction
within such period by an additional amount of $100 to a maximum additional
amount of $300 for each violation within the two-year period.
(c)
In addition to the civil penalties, for any violation of this article,
the court shall require the violator to pay the City's reasonable
attorneys' fees incurred in connection with the enforcement action,
not to exceed $250, plus, the violator shall be ordered to pay the
City's costs and filing fees reasonably incurred in the prosecution
of this article.
[Ord. No. 30-1994, § 4.0, 5-17-1994]
In enforcing the provisions of this article, it is not necessary
that the victim, or person affected by a violation of this article,
should make a complaint or necessarily testify in a proceeding to
enforce the provisions of this article, if, from a preponderance of
the evidence presented, a court of competent jurisdiction is convinced
that a violation of this article has occurred or has taken place,
taking into account the totality of the evidence presented by the
City.
[Ord. No. 30-1994, §§ 2.0-2.5, 5-17-1994; Ord. No. 2-1998, 7-21-1998; Ord.
No. 34-2005, 3-15-2005]
Except as otherwise provided by this section, the following
acts undertaken within the City are hereby declared to be a violation
of this article:
(1)
Noise generally. Yelling, shouting, hooting, whistling, singing,
or the production of any other audible noise between the hours of
10:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m. of the following morning, so as to annoy
or disturb the quiet, comfort or repose of any reasonable person located
within or upon the premises of any dwelling, hotel, or other type
of residence or business establishment, is prohibited.
a.
Exceptions. This noise section shall not apply to sounds or noise
emitted from the following:
1.
Any bell or chime from any clock, school or church.
2.
Any siren, whistle, horn or bell or other noise emitted by emergency
vehicles, snow removal vehicles, or other alarm systems used in the
case of fire, collision, civil defense, burglary, police activity
or imminent danger; however, no burglar alarm shall remain activated
for more than 15 minutes.
3.
Any activity of a temporary duration, which is permitted by law and
for which a license or permit has been granted by an appropriate official
from the City of Belfast, including but not limited to parades, festivals,
sporting events, concerts, and fireworks. It shall only be for temporary
activities of limited duration. This exception specifically does not
include permits obtained through the special amusement permit process.
4.
Any commercial and/or construction equipment, including but not limited
to manufacturing plants, saw mills, generators, construction and commercial
equipment operated upon any premises during the time period from 5:00
a.m. and 10:00 p.m.
5.
Any property maintenance power equipment, including lawnmowers, leaf
blowers, and other yard or property maintenance equipment operated
upon any residential, commercial, industrial or public premises during
the time period from 5:00 a.m. and 10:00 p.m.
6.
Any federal, state or local or private emergency work, specifically
including any and all necessary utility repairs.
7.
Any detonation of explosives used to fragment rock for excavation
and/or construction.
8.
Any recreational and/or educational activity, including but not limited
to, school bands, neighborhood ball games, scholastic sporting events,
snowmobiling, operation of tug boats, fishing boats, recreational
boats, and all legal hunting between the hours of 5:00 a.m. and 11:00
p.m.
9.
Aircraft.
10.
All private, commercial or public deliveries, newspapers, supplies,
commodities, raw materials, finished materials, oil, package deliveries,
organ materials or equipment used to conduct business relating to
noise emanating from any vehicle used for road maintenance, snow removal,
street sweeping, trash removal, property maintenance, including emergency
work and/or repair to property.
11.
Operations relating to the United States Post Office, including
vehicles used thereby.
12.
Power plants at any time of day or night.
13.
This noise section shall not apply to:
(1)
General. Sound and noise emitted from the normal and customary
operation of light manufacturing, manufacturing, processing and commercial
operations located within the City of Belfast, including but not limited
to such things as deliveries, shipping of products, and refrigeration
trucks.
(2)
Obstructing street or sidewalk. Knowingly, intentionally, or
unreasonably obstructing a public way, road, street or sidewalk is
prohibited.
(3)
Skateboards and roller blades. The riding of skate-boards or use of roller blades on City streets or on sidewalks or on public property on/or within the areas depicted by bold lines in Exhibit A attached hereto is prohibited.
(4)
Noise from radios, musical instruments and similar devices. It shall be unlawful for any person owning, occupying or having charge of any business establishment, residence, or dwelling structure, or any part thereof, in the City of Belfast to cause or suffer to cause the playing or operating of music boxes, jukeboxes, live music, radios, musical instruments, or any other musical devices on or about the premises between the hours of 11:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m. the following day, unless such music boxes, juke boxes, live music, radios, musical instruments or any other musical devices are played or operated in a closed building and the audible sound is not discernible by the human ear from outside the building so as to disturb the quiet, comfort or repose of reasonable persons in any dwelling, hotel or any other type of residence or structure. Upon a second conviction of violation of this section, the City Council may, at its discretion, and after notice and hearing, pursuant to the requirements of the amusement and entertainment ordinance, suspend, revoke or terminate any special amusement permit issued to the licensee pursuant to the amusement and entertainment ordinance. However, a conviction under this section shall not be a prerequisite for the City council to notice and conduct a hearing regarding violation of the amusement and entertainment ordinance (Belfast Code of Ordinances, chapter 6) at any time, regardless of prior convictions. Complaints generated regarding this subsection shall be factually reported to the chief of police, or the officer in charge, by the responding officer and shall not be subjectively evaluated by responding officers based on an individual officer's personal tolerance levels.
(5)
Horns and other signaling devices. The sounding of any horn
or signaling device for an unnecessary or unreasonable length of time
or for a purpose not associated with the proper and legitimate signaling
activity undertaken in conjunction with the operation of a motor vehicle
is prohibited.
[Ord. No. 30-1994, § 6.0, 5-17-1994]
Section 34-34 shall apply to the areas of the City as shown within the bold lines on the following map:[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: Said map (Exhibit A) is included as an attachment to this chapter.
[Ord. No. 30-1994, §§ 3.0-3.3, 5-17-1994]
It shall be unlawful for any person to undertake within the
City any of the following acts or conduct within any public place,
street or public way or sidewalk, park or facility open to the public:
(1)
Possession or consumption of alcoholic beverages. The consumption
of any alcoholic beverage or possession of an open container containing
alcoholic beverages.
(2)
Public intoxication. Being intoxicated on a public street, sidewalk,
park or any publicly owned or controlled property. For purposes of
this section, public intoxication shall be defined as being under
the influence of intoxicating liquors or drugs to such a degree as
to cause one's faculties to be impaired so as to cause the person
to walk, motivate or undertake other activities in public in such
a manner as to cause any substantial danger or annoyance to any other
person or member of the public or in such a manner so as to endanger
himself or public or private property, or so as to obstruct a public
sidewalk or public way.
(3)
Threatening or suggestive language or gestures. Undertaking, in a
public place, words, gestures, or comments directed toward, or in
the presence of, any person who is not a voluntary social companion
of the speaker/actor, which words, gestures or comments are, in fact,
intended for or to, or are, in fact, heard, received or observed by
any other person or police officer as being intended to constitute
threatening, taunting, harassing, insulting or sexually suggestive
comments or actions. It is the purpose and intent of this subsection
to regulate conduct which takes place or involves persons who are
not social companions and which serves no legitimate free speech or
other communication purpose, other than to harass, annoy, offend,
shock, humiliate, or otherwise interfere with the peaceful enjoyment
of any person of public places within the City.
