[HISTORY: Adopted by the Borough Council
of the Borough of Alpine as § 6-7 (Ord. No. 289) of the
1970 Revised General Ordinances. Amendments noted where applicable.]
No person shall make, continue or cause to be
made or continued any loud, unnecessary or unusual noise or any noise
which endangers the health, safety or welfare of the community, or
which annoys, disturbs, injures, or endangers the comfort, repose,
health, peace or safety of others within the borough.
[Amended by Ord. No. 442]
The following acts, among others, are declared to be loud, unnecessary, disturbing, and a danger to the health, safety, and welfare of the community and its people, in violation of § 153-1, but the enumeration shall not be deemed to be exclusive, namely:
A.
Horns, signaling devices. The sounding of any horn
or signaling device on any automobile, motorcycle, street car, bus
or other vehicle in the borough except as a danger warning; the creation
by means of any such signaling device of any unreasonably loud or
harsh sound; the sounding of any such device for an unnecessary and
unreasonable period of time; the use of any horn, whistle or other
device operated by engine, exhaust or by compressed air or gas or
by vacuum; and the use of any such signaling device when traffic is
held up for any reason.
B.
Radios, televisions, phonographs, tape recorders.
The use or operation or permitting the playing, use or operation,
either indoors or outdoors, of any radio receiving set, television
receiver, musical instrument, phonograph, tape recorder or other machine
or device for the producing or reproduction of sound in such a manner
so as to disturb the peace, quiet and comfort of the neighboring inhabitants
or at any time with louder volume than is necessary for convenient
hearing for the person or persons who are in the room, vehicle, chamber
or premises in which such machine or device is operated and who are
voluntary listeners thereto.
C.
Loudspeakers, amplifiers. The use, operation, or permitting the playing of, use or operation of any receiving set, musical instrument, phonograph, loudspeaker, sound amplifier, tape recorder, or other machine or device for the producing or reproducing of sound which is cast upon the public streets for the purpose of commercial advertising or for any other purpose, except as authorized by governmental authorities in connection with the enforcement of public emergencies, provided that such devices may be employed in connection with nonprofit charitable, educational, civic, religious or recreational activities in accordance with permits first obtained therefor from the Borough Administrator, pursuant to § 153-4.
D.
Exhausts. The discharge into the open air of the exhaust
of any steam engine, stationary jet or internal combustion engine,
or motor vehicle except through a muffler or other device which will
effectively prevent loud or explosive noises therefrom.
E.
Vehicles and their loads. The use of any automobile,
motorcycle, truck, or vehicle so out of repair, so loaded, or operated
in such a manner as to create loud and unnecessary grating, grinding,
rattling or other noise, especially on hill grades.
F.
Construction work. The excavation, grading, demolition,
building, alteration or repair of any premises, street or structure.
[Amended 7-28-1999 by Ord. No. 554; 11-29-2000 by Ord. No. 579; 11-23-2015 by Ord. No. 755; 12-20-2023 by Ord. No. 823]
(1)
Construction work is permitted Monday through Friday between the
hours of 7:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m. and Saturday between the hours of
9:00 am and 6:00 p.m. No work is to be done on Sunday or legal holidays.
Rock hammering is permitted Monday through Friday between the hours
of 7:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m.
(2)
Rock hammering is prohibited on Saturday, Sunday and legal holidays
except for emergency septic work with the approval from the Borough
of Alpine Health Official/Borough Engineer.
(3)
Blasting is permitted Monday through Friday between the hours of
7:00 am and 6:00 p.m. Blasting is prohibited on Saturday, Sunday and
legal holidays.
(4)
Homeowner/occupants who are personally doing their own work are allowed
to work on the exterior of their premises Monday through Friday between
the hours of 7:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m. and Saturday and Sunday between
the hours of 9:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m. Homeowner/occupants who are personally
doing their own work are allowed to work on the interior of their
premises Monday through Sunday between the hours of 7:00 a.m. and
11:00 p.m., provided that the work is done without undue noise and
disturbance to the peace and quiet of the neighborhood.
G.
Schools, courts, churches and hospitals. The creation
of any excessive noise on any street or property adjacent to any school,
institution of learning, church or court while it is in use, which
unreasonably interferes with the workings of such institution, or
which disturbs or unduly annoys patients in the hospital.
H.
Blowers. The operation of any noise-creating blower
or power fan on any internal combustion engine, the operation of which
causes noise due to the explosion of operating gases or fluids, unless
the noise from such blower or fan is adequately muffled and such engine
is equipped with a muffler device sufficient to deaden such noises.
I.
Landscapers and tree cutters. Use of power lawnmowers,
chainsaws, blowers or other combustion landscaping equipment, or golf
course maintenance equipment, is permitted Monday through Friday between
the hours of 7:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m. No work is to be done on Saturday,
Sunday and legal holidays. Golf courses may request, in writing, a
waiver from this section from the Mayor and Council.
[Amended 12-20-2023 by Ord. No. 823]
J.
Miscellaneous night noises. When occurring in close
proximity to residences between 11:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m., the warming
up or idling of buses, trucks or tractors, and the unnecessary and
repeated idling, acceleration and deceleration or starting and stopping
of automobiles and motorcycles.
K.
Animals. The keeping of any animal which causes frequent
or continued noise plainly audible beyond the property line which
shall disturb any person in the vicinity.
L.
In case
of an emergency or in the interest of public health and safety, law
enforcement, the Borough of Alpine Health Official/Borough Engineer,
or Code Officials, as the case may be, may grant permission for work
to be done within the prohibited hours.
[Added 12-20-2023 by Ord. No. 823]
No person shall use or operate any facility,
machine or instrument, or produce or cause to be produced any sound
in the borough when the same produces noise, the sound pressure level
of which, measured at the point of annoyance complained of, exceeds
65 decibels between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 8:00 p.m., or 50 decibels
between the hours of 8:00 p.m. and 8:00 a.m., or which is more than
10 decibels above the existing background sound level as measured
on the "A" weighting of a sound level meter which conforms to the
specifications of the United States of America Standards Institute.
The background sound level shall be defined as the sound level present
when the offending noise source is silenced. In no instance, however,
shall it be necessary to reduce the noise level below 40 decibels
between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 8:00 p.m., or 30 decibels between
the hours of 8:00 p.m. and 8:00 a.m. This section is applicable when
and where the character and nature of any sound or noise lends itself
to measurement, but nothing in this chapter shall be construed in
any way to limit any other portion or part of this chapter.
A.
The officer charged with the responsibility of issuing permits for the activities requiring permits in accordance with § 153-2 hereof, shall issue permits for such activities if (s)he finds that the activities will not unduly or unnecessarily annoy, disturb, injure or endanger the comfort, repose, health, peace or safety of others, that the activities will not violate any other ordinance or law or create a public nuisance, and that the public health and safety will not be endangered thereby.
B.
Permits shall specify the dates and hours of the permitted
activities, which shall not be allowed between the hours of 10:00
p.m. and 7:00 a.m., unless the issuing officer determines that it
is in the best interest of the community that the activities take
place wholly or partially during such hours. The issuing officer is
authorized to adopt and use such forms of applications and permits
as may be reasonably required in the performance of his/her duties.
Each application for a permit shall be accompanied by a fee of $2,
which shall be payable to the borough.
An applicant for a permit hereunder shall have
the right to appeal to the Mayor and Council from the denial of the
permit by the issuing officer. Such appeal shall be taken by filing
a written notice of appeal addressed to the Mayor and Council at the
Borough Hall. Such notice shall be filed within three days after the
issuing officer has notified the applicant of the denial of the permit.
The Mayor and Council shall act upon the appeal as soon as practicable
after receiving the notice thereof and shall give the applicant an
opportunity to be heard before taking action. The Mayor and Council
may affirm or reverse the issuing officer's denial of the permit or
may grant the permit with modifications or conditions.
Nothing in this chapter shall be construed to
apply to church bells or chimes, to the playing of bands or orchestras
in a hall or building in a manner which will not annoy the peace,
comfort and quiet of the neighboring inhabitants, to municipal, county,
state or federal government agencies in connection with any emergency,
to normal working activities of or activities sponsored by the Borough
Council, to warning devices on authorized emergency vehicles or to
horns or other warning devices on other vehicles used only for traffic
and safety purposes.
In addition to public law enforcement officers
and others who by law are entitled to enforce or bring complaints
under this chapter, the officers who are designated hereunder for
the issuance of permits shall have the power to enforce and bring
complaints under this chapter.
[Amended 2-25-1998 by Ord. No. 539]
The penalty shall be as set forth in § 1-17, General penalty.
