The Board hereby finds and declares that excessive noise is
a serious hazard to the public health, welfare, peace and safety and
the quality of life of the citizens of Mathews County; that the people
have a right to and should be ensured of an environment free from
sound that jeopardizes the public health, welfare, peace, and safety
or degrades the quality of life. It is therefore the policy of the
Mathews County Board of Supervisors and the purpose of this chapter
is to prevent such excessive noise.
Any word undefined herein shall be given its ordinary meaning,
given the context in which the word is used. As used in this chapter,
the following words and phrases shall have the following meanings:
BOARD
The Mathews County Board of Supervisors.
DWELLING UNIT
One or more rooms arranged, designed, or intended to be occupied
as separate living quarters by one or more persons and including permanent
provisions for living, sleeping, eating, cooking and sanitation.
EMERGENCY
Any occurrence or set of circumstances involving actual or
imminent physical trauma or property damage which demands immediate
action.
EXCESSIVE NOISE
Any sound which disturbs humans, or which causes or tends
to cause an adverse psychological or physiological effect on humans.
PERSON
Any individual, firm, owner, sole proprietorship, partnership,
limited-liability company, corporation, unincorporated association,
governmental body, municipal corporation, executor, administrator,
trustee, guardian, agent, occupant, or other legal entity.
PLAINLY AUDIBLE
Any sound, other than unamplified normal human conversational
level, that can be detected by a person using his or her unaided hearing
faculties.
PUBLIC PROPERTY
Any real property owned or controlled by the County or any
other governmental entity.
REAL PROPERTY LINE
An imaginary line along the ground surface and its vertical
extension which separates the real property owned by one person from
that owned by another person, but not including intra-building real
property divisions.
RESIDENTIAL AREA
Any property zoned for residential use and used for residential
purposes.
SOUND
Includes, but is not limited to, the following: i) something
that is capable of being heard by a person; ii) vibrations that travel
through the air or another medium and can be heard when they reach
a person's ear or that can be otherwise detected. The description
of sound may include any characteristics of such sound, including
duration, intensity, and frequency.
The following acts, or the causing or permitting thereof, among
others, are declared to be excessive noise and are a violation of
this chapter:
A. Radios, musical instruments, and similar devices. Operating, playing,
or permitting the operation or playing of any radio, compact disc
player, or other sound reproduction device, or any drum, musical instrument,
or similar device, between the hours of 12:00 midnight and 6:00 a.m.:
(1) In such a manner as to permit sound to be plainly audible across
a residential real property line or through partitions common to two
dwelling units within a building; or
(2) When the sound is plainly audible at a distance of 50 feet or more
from its source.
B. Loudspeakers, public address systems and sound trucks. Using, operating,
or permitting the operation of any loudspeaker, public address system,
mobile sound vehicle or similar device amplifying sound therefrom
for any purpose between the hours of 12:00 midnight and 6:00 a.m.
in such a manner as to permit sound to be plainly audible across a
residential real property line, or through partitions common to two
dwelling units within a building.
No provision of this chapter shall apply to any person or entity
who has applied for and received a special event permit from the County
Administrator.
Should any section, subsection, sentence, clause, or phrase
of this chapter be declared invalid by a court of competent jurisdiction,
such decision shall not affect the validity of the chapter in its
entirety or of any part thereof other than that portion declared to
be invalid.