Corning Municipal Code Ch. 9.08 Sound Truck Use

A. "Person," as used in this chapter, includes the singular and the plural and means and includes any person, firm, corporation, association, club, partnership, society, or any other form of association or organization.

B. "Sound-amplifying equipment," as used in this chapter, means any machine or device for the amplification of the human voice, music, or any other sound. "Sound-amplifying equipment," as used in this chapter, shall not be construed as including standard automobile radios when used and heard only by occupants of the vehicle in which installed, or warning devices on authorized emergency vehicles, or horns or other warning devices on other vehicles used only for traffic safety purposes.

C. "Soundtruck," as used in this chapter, means any motor vehicle or horse-drawn vehicle having mounted thereon, or attached thereto, any sound-amplifying equipment.

(Ord. 177 §1, 1961).

No person shall use or cause to be used a soundtruck with its sound-amplifying equipment in operation for noncommercial purposes in the city before filing a registration statement with the chief of police in writing. This registration statement shall be filed in duplicate and shall state the following:

A. Name and home address of the applicant;

B. Address of place of business of applicant;

C. License number and motor number of the soundtruck to be used by applicant;

D. Name and address of person who owns the soundtruck;

E. Name and address of person having direct charge of soundtruck;

F. Names and addresses of all persons who will use or operate the soundtruck;

G. The purpose for which the soundtruck will be used;

H. A general statement as to the section or sections of the city in which the soundtruck will be used;

I. The proposed hours of operation of soundtruck;

J. The number of days of proposed operation of the soundtruck;

K. A general description of the sound-amplifying equipment which is to be used;

L. The maximum sound-producing power of the sound-amplifying equipment to be used in or on the soundtruck, as follows:

1. The wattage to be used,

2. The volume in decibels of the sound which will be produced,

3. The approximate maximum distance for which sound will be thrown from the soundtruck. (Ord . 177 §2 (a), 1961).

All persons using or causing to be used sound-truck for noncommercial purposes shall amend any registration statement filed pursuant to Section 9.08.020 within forty-eight hours after any change in the information therein furnished.

(Ord. 177 §2(b), 1961).

The chief of police shall return to each applicant under Section of this chapter, one copy of the registration statement duly certified by the chief of police as a correct copy of the application. The certified copy of the application shall be in the possession of any person operating the soundtruck at all times while the soundtruck's sound-amplifying equipment is in operation, and the copy shall be promptly displayed and shown to any law officer of the city or state upon request.

(Ord. 177 §2(c), 1961).

Noncommercial use of sound trucks in the city with sound-amplifying equipment in operation shall be subject to the following regulations:

A. The only sounds permitted are music or human speech.

B. Operations are permitted for four hours each day, except on Sundays and legal holidays when no operations shall be authorized. The permitted four hours of operation shall be between the hours of ten a.m. and twelve noon, and between the hours of four-thirty p.m. and six-thirty p.m.

C. Sound-amplifying equipment shall not be operated unless the soundtruck upon which such equipment is mounted is operated at a speed of at least ten miles per hour except when the truck is stopped or impeded by traffic. Where stopped by traffic, the sound-amplifying equipment shall not be operated for longer than one minute at each such stop.

D. Sound shall not be issued within one hundred yards of hospitals, schools, churches, courthouses, or public buildings.

E. The human speech and music amplified shall not be profane, lewd, indecent, or slanderous.

F. The volume of sound shall be controlled so that it will not be audible for a distance in excess of three hundred feet from the soundtruck, and so that the volume is not unreasonably loud, raucous, jarring, disturbing, or a nuisance to persons within the area of audibility.

G. No sound-amplifying equipment shall be operated with an excess of fifteen watts of power in the last stage of amplification.

(Ord. 177 §2(d), 1961).

No person shall operate or cause to be operated any soundtruck in the city for commercial advertising purposes with sound-amplifying equipment in operation, unless a license has been obtained from the chief of police. The fee for the license shall be two dollars and fifty cents per year, each such license expiring on December 31st of each year.

(Ord. 177 §3(a), 1961).

Persons applying for the license required under Section 9.08.060 of this chapter shall file with the chief of police an application in writing giving in the application the information required in the registration statement under Section 9.08.020.

(Ord. 177 §3(b), 1961).

The chief of police shall issue a license under Section 9.08.060 of this chapter upon payment of the required license fee, unless the application required in Section 9.08.070 reveals that applicant would violate the regulations prescribed in Section 9.08.050 or the provisions of some other ordinance of this city.

(Ord. 177 §3(c), 1961).

A licensee shall keep such license in his possession in the soundtruck during the time the soundtruck's sound-amplifying equipment is in operation. The license shall be promptly displayed and shown to any law officer of the city or state upon request.

(Ord. 177 §3(d), 1961).

No person shall operate or cause to be operated any soundtruck for commercial sound advertising purposes in violation of the regulations set forth in Section 9.08.050 of this chapter.

(Ord. 177 §3(e), 1961).