[New]
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 meanings
as those defined in N.J.A.C. 7:29.
Shall mean any site preparation, assembly, erection, repair,
alteration or similar action, including demolition of buildings or
structures.
Shall mean any dismantling, destruction or removal of buildings,
structures, or roadways.
Shall mean the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection.
Shall mean 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.
Shall mean either a single pressure peak or a single burst
(multiple pressure peaks) that has a duration of less than one (1)
second.
Shall mean any vehicle that is propelled other than by human
or animal power on land.
Shall mean 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.
Shall mean any building comprising two (2) or more dwelling
units, including, but not limited to, apartments, condominiums, co-ops,
multiple family houses, townhouses, and attached residences.
Shall mean 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.
Shall mean an employee of: (1) 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 (2) 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 his or her designated jurisdiction and must
be authorized to issue a summons in order to be considered a noise
control officer.
Shall mean any sound that can be detected by a person using
his or her 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.
Shall mean any street, avenue, boulevard, road, highway,
sidewalk, alley or easement that is owned, leased, or controlled by
a nongovernmental entity.
Shall mean any street, avenue, boulevard, road, highway,
sidewalk, alley or easement that is owned, leased, or controlled by
a governmental entity.
Shall mean any real property or structures thereon that are
owned, leased, or controlled by a governmental entity.
Shall mean 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 building; or (c) on a multi-use property,
the interface between the two (2) 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).
Shall mean any day that is not a Federal holiday, and beginning
on Monday at 7:00 a.m. and ending the following Friday at 6:00 p.m.
Shall mean beginning on Friday at 6:00 p.m. and ending on
the following Monday at 7:00 a.m.
[New]
a.Â
This chapter applies to sound from the following property categories:
c.Â
Sound from stationary emergency signaling devices shall be regulated
in accordance with N.J.A.C. 7:29-1.3, except that the testing of the
electromechanical functioning of a stationary emergency signaling
device shall not meet or exceed ten (10) seconds.
[New]
a.Â
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 and any other noise certification
or recertification course which is offered by an accredited university
and approved by the Department.
b.Â
Sound measurements made by a Noise Control Officer shall conform to the procedures set forth in N.J.A.C. 7:29-2, except that interior sound level measurements shall also conform with the procedures set forth in Sections BH3-4b and c of this chapter and with the definition of "real property line" as contained herein.
c.Â
Noise Control Officers shall have the power to:
1.Â
Coordinate the noise control activities of all departments in the
Borough of Rockleigh and cooperate with all other public bodies and
agencies to the extent practicable;
2.Â
Review the actions of the Borough of Rockleigh and advise of the
effect, if any, of such actions on noise control;
3.Â
Review public and private projects, subject to mandatory review or
approval by other departments or boards, for compliance with this
chapter; and
4.Â
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 Section BH3-6 below.
5.Â
Cooperate with Noise Control Officers of adjacent municipalities
in enforcing one another's municipal noise ordinances.
[New]
a.Â
No person shall cause, suffer, allow, or permit the operation of any source of sound on a source property listed in Section BH3-2a 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 paragraph b below.
b.Â
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.Â
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.Â
Impulsive Sound. Impulsive sound shall not equal or exceed eighty
(80) decibels at all times.
|
Table I. Maximum Permissible A-Weighted Sound Levels
| |||
|---|---|---|---|
|
1. No person shall cause, suffer, allow or permit the operation of any source of sound on any source property listed in Section BH3-2a above in such a manner as to create a sound level that equals or exceeds the sound levels listed below.
| |||
|
(a) 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 a.m. - 10 p.m.
|
10 p.m. - 7 a.m.
|
24 hours
|
|
Maximum A-Weighted sound level standard, dB
|
65
|
50
|
65
|
|
(b) Indoors.
| |||
|
Receiving Property Category
|
Residential property, or residential portion of a multi-use
property
|
Commercial facility,[1] or nonresidential portion of a multi-use property
| |
|
Time
|
7 a.m. - 10 p.m.
|
10 p.m. - 7 a.m.
|
24 hours
|
|
Maximum A-Weighted sound level standard, dB
|
55
|
40
|
55
|
|
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 Section BH3-2a 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
|
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,[2] or nonresidential portion of a multi-use property
| ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
OUTDOORS
|
INDOORS
|
OUTDOORS
|
INDOORS
| |||
|
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
| ||
|
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
|
|
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
|
[1]
*NOTES: In those instances when a commercial facility shares
a common wall/ceiling/floor with another commercial facility that
is producing the sound
[2]
NOTES: In those instances when a commercial facility shares
a common wall/ceiling/floor with another commercial facility that
is producing the sound
[New]
a.Â
Exemptions.
b.Â
Notwithstanding the provisions of Tables I and II, the following
standards shall apply to the activities or sources of sound set forth
below:
1.Â
Commercial or industrial power tools and landscaping and yard maintenance
equipment, excluding emergency work, shall not be operated on a residential
property or within two hundred fifty (250) feet of a residential property
line when operated on commercial or industrial 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 9:00 a.m. on weekends or Federal holidays, unless
such activities can meet the limits set forth in Tables I and II.
In addition, commercial or industrial power tools and landscaping
and yard maintenance equipment, excluding emergency work, utilized
on commercial or industrial property shall meet the limits set forth
in Tables I and II between the hours of 10:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m. All
motorized equipment used in these activities shall be operated with
a muffler. At all other times, the limits set forth in Tables I and
II do not apply to commercial or industrial power tools and landscaping
and yard maintenance equipment;
2.Â
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.Â
Motorized snowblowers, snow throwers, and lawn equipment with attached
snow plows shall be operated at all times with a muffler. At all times,
the limits set forth in Tables I and II do not apply;
4.Â
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 (5) minutes for continuous airborne sound and fifteen
(15) minutes for impulsive sound after it has been activated. At all
times, the limits set forth at Tables I and II do not apply;
5.Â
Personal or commercial vehicular music amplification or reproduction
equipment shall not be operated in such a manner that it is plainly
audible at a residential property line between the hours of 10:00
p.m. and 8:00 a.m.;
6.Â
Personal vehicular music amplification equipment shall not be operated
in such a manner as to be plainly audible at a distance of fifty (50)
feet in any direction from the operator between the hours of 8:00
a.m. and 10:00 p.m.;
7.Â
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 fifty (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.
[New]
a.Â
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. 7:29-1.6. The
recipient of an enforcement document shall be entitled to a hearing
in Municipal Court having jurisdiction to contest such action.
b.Â
Any person who violates any provision of N.J.S.A. 13:1G-1 or this
chapter shall be subject to a civil penalty for each offense of not
more than three thousand ($3,000.00) dollars. If the violation is
of a continuing nature, each day during which it occurs shall constitute
an additional, separate, and distinct offense.
c.Â
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.
