Township of Mine Hill, NJ Nuisance, Noise

It shall be unlawful for any person to make, continue, or cause to be made or continued any unnecessary and unreasonably loud, disturbing sound which does or is likely to annoy, disturb, injure or endanger the comfort, repose, health, peace or safety of others and which is plainly audible (meaning any sound that can be detected, by a person using his or her unaided hearing faculties) at more than 50 feet from the property line from which the sound is emanating except that the distance shall be 25 feet between the hours of 10:00 p.m. and 8:00 a.m. Specifically exempted hereunder is noise presumed not to be a nuisance pursuant to the Right to Farm Act, N.J.S.A. 4:1C-1 et seq.

Examples. Without intending to limit the generality of Subsection A of this section, the following acts are hereby declared to be examples of loud, disturbing and unnecessary noise in violation of this section:

(1)

Homeowner use of equipment (excluding emergency work). Power tools, home maintenance tools, landscaping and/or yard maintenance equipment used by a residential property owner or tenant shall not be operated between the hours of 8:00 p.m. and 8:00 a.m.

(2)

Contractor use of equipment. Excluding emergency work, power tools, landscaping and/or yard maintenance equipment used by nonresidential operators (e.g., commercial operators, public employees) shall not be operated on a residential, commercial, industrial or public (e.g., golf course, parks, athletic fields) property between the hours of 6:00 p.m. and 8:00 a.m. on weekdays, or between the hours of 6:00 p.m. and 9:00 a.m. on weekends or federal holidays.

(3)

All 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.

(4)

Motorized snow removal equipment shall be operated with a muffler and/or a sound reduction device when being used for snow removal (no time restriction).

(5)

All interior and exterior burglar alarms 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 intermittent sound after it has been activated.

(6)

Loud music. Self-contained, portable, nonvehicular music or sound production devices 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, operated on a public space or public right-of-way, from such equipment shall not be plainly audible at a distance of 25 feet in any direction from the operator.

(7)

Barking dogs. It shall be unlawful for any property owner or tenant to allow any domesticated or caged animal to create a sound across a real property line which unreasonably disturbs or interferes with the peace, comfort, and repose of any resident, or to refuse or intentionally fail to cease the unreasonable noise when ordered to do so by a Noise Control Officer or Noise Control Investigator. Prima facie evidence of a violation of this section shall include, but not be limited to:

(a)

Vocalizing (howling, yelping, barking, squawking etc.) for five minutes without interruption, defined as an average of four or more vocalizations per minute in that period; or

(b)

Vocalizing for 20 minutes intermittently, defined as an average of two vocalizations or more per minute in that period.

(8)

Motor vehicles.

(a)

No person shall remove or render inoperative, or cause to be removed or rendered inoperative or less effective than originally equipped, other than for the purposes of maintenance, repair, or replacement, of any device or element of design incorporated in any motor vehicle for the purpose of noise control. No person shall operate a motor vehicle or motorcycle which has been so modified. A vehicle not meeting these requirements shall be deemed in violation of this provision if it is operated stationary or in motion in any public space or public right-of-way.

(b)

No motorcycle shall be operated stationary or in motion unless it has a muffler that complies with and is labeled in accordance with the Federal Noise Regulations under 40 CFR Part 205.

(c)

Personal or commercial vehicular music amplification or reproduction equipment shall not be operated in such a manner that it is plainly audible at distance of 25 feet in any direction from the operator between the hours of 10:00 p.m. and 8:00 a.m.

(d)

Personal or commercial vehicular music amplification or reproduction equipment shall not be operated in such a manner that is 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.