Duarte Municipal Code Ch. 9.68 Noise Regulations

It is declared to be the policy of the city to prohibit unnecessary, excessive and annoying noises from all sources subject to its police power. At certain levels, noises are detrimental to the health and welfare of the citizenry and, in the public interest, such noise levels shall be systematically proscribed.

(Ord. 380 Art. 1 § 1, 1975)

Unless the context otherwise clearly indicates, the words and phrases used in this chapter are defined as follows:

(a) "Ambient noise" is the all-encompassing noise associated with a given environment, being usually a composite of sounds from many sources near and far. For the purpose of this chapter, "ambient noise level" is the level obtained when the noise level is averaged over a period of fifteen minutes without inclusion of noise from isolated identifiable sources, at the location and time of day near that at which a comparison is to be made.

(b) "'A'-weighted sound pressure level" means the sound pressure level as measured with a sound meter using the "A"-weighting network. The standard notation is dBA.

(c) "Commercial purpose" means and includes the use, operation or maintenance of any sound amplifying equipment for the purpose of advertising any business, or any goods, or any services, or for the purpose of attracting the attention of the public to, or advertising for, or soliciting patronage or customers to or for any performance, show, entertainment, exhibition or event, for the purpose of demonstrating any such sound equipment.

(d) "Commercial zone" means an area designated as administrative professional (CP), neighborhood commercial (C-1), retail commercial (C-2), community commercial (C-3), service commercial (C-4), or commercial-recreation (C-R) on the city of Duarte zoning map.

(e) "Cyclically varying noise" means steady or non-steady noise which varies in amplitude such that the same sound pressure level is obtained repetitively at reasonably uniform intervals of time. A beat is one class of noise.

(f) "Day" means the time period from seven a.m. of one day to ten p.m. of the same day.

(g) "Decibel" (dB) means a unit for expressing the ratio between two quantities of acoustical signal powers; the number of decibels corresponding to the ratio of two amounts of power is ten times the logarithm to the base ten of this ratio.

(h) "Emergency work" means work made necessary to restore property to a safe condition following a public calamity, or work required to protect persons or property from an imminent exposure to danger, or work by private or public utilities when restoring utility service.

(i) "Impulsive sound" means a short-duration sound (such as might be produced by the impact of a drophammer or a piledriver) with one second or less duration.

(j) "Industrial" or "manufacturing" zone means an area designated as industrial park zone (I-P) or light manufacturing zone (M-1) on the city of Duarte zoning map.

(k) "Motor vehicles" includes, but is not limited to, automobiles, trucks, motorcycles, minibikes and go-carts.

(l) "Night" means the time period from ten p.m. of one day to seven a.m. of the following day.

(m) "Noncommercial purpose" means the use, operation or maintenance of any sound equipment for other than a "commercial use." "Noncommercial purpose" means and includes, but is not limited to, philanthropic, political, patriotic and charitable purposes.

(n) "Person" means a person, firm, association, copartnership, joint venture, corporation, or any entity, public or private in nature, excluding the city of Duarte.

(o) "Property boundary line" means an imaginary line at the ground surface, which separates the real property owned by one person from that owned by another person and its vertical extension. This includes multiple-family dwelling units, with the property boundary being the wall separating the adjoining dwelling units.

(p) "Pure tone" means a sound wave whose instantaneous sound pressure varies essentially as a simple sinusoidal function of time.

(q) "Residential zone" means an area designated as single family residential zone (R-1, R-1-A, R-1-B, R-1-C, R-1-D, R-1-E, R-1-F), multiple residential zone (R-2, R-3, R-4), planned unit development zone (PUD), mobile home residential zone (R-MH), or residential recreation zone (R-R) on the city of Duarte zoning map.

(r) "Sound" is the sensation perceived by the sense of hearing. For the purpose of this chapter, the terms "sound" and "noise" shall be used synonymously.

(s) "Sound amplifying equipment" is any machine or device for the amplification of the human voice, music or any other sound, but shall not include:

(1) Warning devices or emergency vehicles;

(2) Horns, burglar and fire alarms, or other warning devices expressly authorized by law.

(t) "Sound level" (noise level) expressed in decibels (dB) is the sound measured with the "A"-weight scale and with slow response by a sound level meter.

(u) "Sound level meter" means an instrument including a microphone, an amplifier, an output meter, and "A" frequency weighting networks for the measurement of sound levels, which satisfies the pertinent requirements in American Standard Specifications for Sound Level Meters Sl.4-1971 or the most recent revision thereof.

(v) "Sound pressure level" is twenty times the logarithm to the base ten of the ratio of the root-mean-square sound pressure to the reference pressure, which is twenty micronewtons per square meter.

(w) "Sound truck" means any motor vehicle or any other vehicle, regardless of motive power, whether in motion or stationary, which carries, is equipped with or which has mounted thereon, or attached thereto, any sound amplifying equipment for commercial, political or charitable purposes.

(x) "Steady noise" means noise for which the sound pressure level remains essentially constant during the period of observation. It does not vary more than six dBA when measured with the "slow" meter characteristic of a sound level meter.

(Ord. 380 Art. 1 § 2, 1975)

Any sound level measurement made pursuant to the provisions of this chapter shall be measured with a sound level meter using the "A"- weighting and response as indicated in Section 9.68.020(u).

(Ord. 380 Art. 1 § 3, 1975)

The following procedures shall be utilized for measuring and evaluating exterior noise in the city unless otherwise specified in this chapter:

(a) Noise measurements shall be conducted any time during the day or night when the suspect noise source is in operation.

(b) The location selected for noise measurement shall be on the noise receptor's property line at a point approximately ten feet from any building, wall or obstruction (trees, bushes, etc.)

(c) No individual other than the operator shall be within ten feet of the sound level meter during the measurement period.

(d) The sound level meter shall be calibrated in accordance with the manufacturer's instructions.

(e) With the noise source in operation, the operator shall record the instantaneous response at fifteen-second intervals or less, for a period of fifteen minutes or greater. Or, for a noise source in operation for less than fifteen minutes, the operator shall record the instantaneous response at fifteen-second intervals or less for the time the noise source is in operation.

(f) The suspect noise source shall only be measured for a violation of this ordinance when it is five dBA or greater than another noise source within the measurement vicinity.

(g) The corrective factors set forth in Section 9.68.050(b) shall be applied to the noise standard established for the specific noise zone.

(h) The suspect noise level shall be compared with the standards in Section 9.68.050(a). If the noise level generated from the suspect noise source exceeds the standard, the suspect noise source shall be considered to be in violation of this chapter.

(Ord. 380 Art. 1 § 4, 1975)

(a) It is unlawful for any person within the city of Duarte to make, cause or allow to be produced noise which is received on property occupied by another person within the designated zone, in excess of the following levels, except as expressly provided otherwise herein:

STANDARDS

At the boundary line between a residential property and a commercial and manufacturing property, the noise level of the quieter zone shall be used.

(b) CORRECTIONS TO NOISE LIMITS. The numerical limits given in subsection (a) of this section shall be adjusted by the following corrections, where appropriate:

(Ord. 682 § 1, 1991; Ord. 380 Art. 1 § 5, 1975)

Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter, and in addition thereto, it is unlawful for any person to wilfully make or continue, or cause to be made and continued, any loud, unnecessary or unusual noise which disturbs the peace and quiet of any neighborhood, or which causes discomfort or annoyance to residents of the area. The standards which shall be considered in determining whether a violation of the provisions of this section exists may include, but not be limited to, the following:

(a) The level of the noise;

(b) Whether the nature of the noise is usual or unusual;

(c) The nature and zoning of the area within which the noise emanates;

(d) The density of the inhabitation of the area within which the noise emanates;

(e) The time of day or night the noise occurs;

(f) The duration of the noise;

(g) Whether the noise is recurrent, intermittent, or constant; and

(h) Whether the origin of the noise is natural or unnatural.

(Ord. 380 Art. 5 § 1, 1975)

As an additional remedy, the operation or maintenance of any device, instrument, vehicle, or machinery in violation of any provision of this chapter, which operation or maintenance causes discomfort or annoyance to reasonable persons of normal sensitiveness or which endangers the comfort, repose, health, or peace of residents in the area, shall be deemed and is declared to be a public nuisance and may be subject to abatement summarily by a restraining order or injunction issued by a court of competent jurisdiction.

(Ord. 380 Art. 1 § 6, 1975)

It is unlawful for any person to sound any horn or signaling device on an automobile, motorcycle, sidewalk vending receptacle, or other vehicle on any street or public place of the city, except as a danger warning; to create by means of any such signaling device any unreasonably loud or harsh sound; to sound any such device for an unnecessary and unreasonable period of time; to use any signaling device except one operated by hand or electricity; to sound any horn, whistle or other device operated by engine exhaust; and to use any such signaling device when traffic is for any reason held up.

(Ord. 380 Art. 2 § 1, 1975)

(Ord. No. 887, § 7, 11-13-2018)

It is unlawful for any person within any residential zone of the city to use or operate any radio receiving set, musical instrument, phonograph, television set, or other machine or device for the producing or reproducing of sound (between the hours of ten p.m. of one day and seven a.m. of the following day) in such a manner as to disturb the peace, quiet and comfort of neighboring residents or any reasonable person of normal sensitiveness residing in the area.

(Ord. 380 Art. 2 § 2, 1975)

No person shall keep or maintain, or permit the keeping of, upon any premises owned, occupied, or controlled by such person any animal or fowl otherwise permitted to be kept which, by any sound, cry or behavior, shall cause annoyance or discomfort to a reasonable person of normal sensitiveness in any residential neighborhood.

(Ord. 380 Art. 2 § 3, 1975)

It is unlawful for any person to cause emission into the open air of the exhaust from any motorboat or motor vehicle except through a muffler or other device which will effectively prevent loud or explosive noises therefrom.

(Ord. 380 Art. 2 § 4, 1975)

It is unlawful for any person within a residential zone, or within a radius of five hundred feet therefrom, to operate equipment or perform any outside construction or repair work on buildings, structures, or projects or to operate any pile-driver, power shovel, pneumatic hammer, derrick, power hoist, or any other construction type device (between the hours of ten p.m. of one day and seven a.m. of the next day) in such a manner that a reasonable person of normal sensitiveness residing in the area is caused discomfort or annoyance unless beforehand a permit therefor has been duly obtained from the planning and zoning division, department of public services. No permit shall be required to perform emergency work as defined in Section 9.68.020(h).

(Ord. 380 Art. 2 § 5, 1975)

It is unlawful for any person within the city, including sidewalk vendors, to sell anything by outcry within any area of the city zoned for residential uses. The provisions of this section shall not be construed to prohibit the selling by outcry of merchandise, food, and beverages at licensed sporting events, parades, fairs, circuses, and other similar licensed public entertainment events.

(Ord. 380 Art. 2 § 6, 1975)

(Ord. No. 887, § 8, 11-13-2018)

It is unlawful for any person to use any drum or other instrument or device of any kind for the purpose of attracting attention by the creation of noise within the city. This section shall not apply to any person who is a participant in a school band or duly licensed parade or who has been otherwise duly authorized to engage in such conduct.

(Ord. 380 Art. 2 § 7, 1975)

It is unlawful for any person to create any noise on any city street, sidewalk, or public place adjacent to any school, institution of learning, church or library while the same is in use or adjacent to any hospital or convalescent home, which noise unreasonably interferes with the workings of such institution or which disturbs or unduly annoys patients in such medical facilities, provided conspicuous signs are placed in such streets, sidewalks or public place indicating the presence of these facilities.

(Ord. 380 Art. 2 § 8, 1975)

It is unlawful for any person to operate any machinery, equipment, pump, fan, air conditioning apparatus, or similar mechanical device (between the hours of ten p.m. of one day and seven a.m. of the following day), use of which is attended by loud or unusual noises.

(Ord. 380 Art. 2 § 9, 1975)

It is unlawful and a public nuisance for any person in this city to blow, or otherwise activate, or permit to be blown or activated, any train whistle, horn or other device designed and intended primarily to make noise at a noise level in excess of seventy-five decibels, or to operate or activate such whistle, horn or other device at any sound level, at any grade crossing protected by automatic safety gates.

(Ord. 409 § 1, 1977: Ord. 380 Art. 2 § 10, 1975)

There are exempted from this chapter the following:

(a) Lawfully conducted parades;

(b) Emergency work as defined in Section 9.68.020(h);

(c) Aircraft flight operations;

(d) Bells, chimes or carillons while being used in conjunction with religious services;

(e) Commercial motor vehicle operations;

(f) Emergency energy release devices;

(g) Speed or endurance events authorized by the city of Duarte, involving motor or other vehicles;

(h) Surface carriers engaged in commerce by railroad, except for horns and whistles operated within city limits;

(i) Systems used to warn community of attack or imminent public danger such as flooding or explosion;

(j) Any noise or situation within the scope of Sections 23130 or 23109 of the Vehicle Code of the state.

(Ord. 380 Art. 2 § 11, 1975)

It is unlawful for any person within any residential area of the city to repair, rebuild, or test any motor vehicle (between the hours of ten p.m. of one day and seven a.m. of the next day) in such a manner that a reasonable person of normal sensitiveness residing in the area is caused discomfort or annoyance.

(Ord. 380 Art. 3 § 1, 1975)

It is unlawful for any person to operate any motor-driven vehicle within the city in such a manner that a reasonable person of normal sensitiveness residing in the area is caused discomfort or annoyance; provided, however, any such vehicle which is operated upon any public highway, street, or right-of-way shall be excluded from the provisions of this section.

(Ord. 380 Art. 3 § 2, 1975)

The council enacts this legislation for the sole purpose of securing and promoting the public health, comfort, safety, and welfare of its citizenry. While recognizing that the use of sound amplifying equipment is protected by the constitutional rights of freedom of speech and assembly, the council nevertheless feels obligated to reasonably regulate the use of sound amplifying equipment in order to protect the correlative constitutional rights of the citizens of this community to privacy and freedom from public nuisance of loud and unnecessary noise.

(Ord. 380 Art. 4 § 1, 1975)

It is unlawful for any person, other than personnel of law enforcement or governmental agencies, to install, use, or operate within the city a loudspeaker or sound amplifying equipment in a fixed or movable position or mounted upon any sound truck for the purposes of giving instructions, directions, talks, addresses, lectures, or transmitting music to any persons or assemblages of persons in or upon any street, alley, sidewalk, park, place, or public property without first filing a registration statement and obtaining approval thereof as set forth in Sections 9.68.230 through 9.68.280.

(Ord. 380 Art. 4 § 2, 1975)

Every user of sound amplifying equipment shall file a registration statement with the planning and zoning division, department of public services, ten days prior to the date on which the sound amplifying equipment is intended to be used, which statement shall contain the following information:

(1) The name, address and telephone number of both the owner and user of the sound amplifying equipment;

(2) The maximum sound producing power of the sound amplifying equipment which shall include the wattage to be used, the volume in decibels of sound which will be produced, and the approximate distance for which sound will be audible from the sound amplifying equipment;

(3) The license and motor number if a sound truck is to be used;

(4) A general description of the sound amplifying equipment which is to be used; and

(5) Whether the sound amplifying equipment will be used for commercial or noncommercial purposes.

(Ord. 380 Art. 4 § 3(a), 1975)

The planning and zoning division shall return to the applicant an approved certified copy of the registration statement unless it is found that:

(a) The conditions of the motor vehicle movement are such that, in the opinion of the planning and zoning division, use of the equipment would constitute a detriment to traffic safety; or

(b) The conditions of pedestrian movement are such that use of the equipment would constitute a detriment to traffic safety; or

(c) The registration statement required reveals that the applicant would violate the provisions set forth in Section 9.68.280 or any other provisions of this code.

(Ord. 380 Art. 4 § 3(b), 1975)

Any person aggrieved by disapproval of a registration statement may appeal by complying with the provisions of this code relating to appeals.

(Ord. 380 Art. 4 § 4, 1975)

Prior to the issuance of the registration statement, a fee in an amount established by resolution of the city council shall be paid to the city.

(Ord. 781 § 1 (part), 2006)

The commercial and noncommercial use of sound amplifying equipment shall be subject to the following regulations:

(a) The only sounds permitted shall be either music or human speech, or both.

(b) The operation of sound amplifying equipment shall only occur between the hours of seven a.m. and ten p.m. of each day except on Sundays and legal holidays. No operation of sound amplifying equipment for commercial purposes shall be permitted on Sundays or legal holidays. The operation of sound amplifying equipment for noncommercial purposes on Sundays and legal holidays shall only occur between the hours of ten a.m. and six p.m.

(c) Sound level emanating from sound amplifying equipment shall not exceed fifteen decibels above the ambient base noise level.

(d) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (c) of this section, sound amplifying equipment shall not be operated within two hundred feet of churches, schools, hospitals, convalescent homes, or city or county buildings.

(e) In any event, the volume of sound shall be so controlled that it will not be unreasonably loud, raucous, jarring, disturbing, or a nuisance to reasonable persons of normal sensitiveness within the area of audibility.

(Ord. 380 Art. 4 § 6, 1975)

When any loud or unruly assemblage occurs or is held, and the city's law enforcement agency is required to respond to the scene in response to citizen complaints and the senior peace officer at the scene determines that there is a threat to the public peace, health safety or general welfare, then that senior peace officer shall notify the owner of the property and/or the person in charge of the property where the assemblage exists, and/or the person responsible for the said assemblage, that such person or persons, or in the case of a minor, the parents and/or guardians of such minor, will be held personally liable for the cost of providing additional law enforcement personnel on special security assignment over and above the normal services provided by the law enforcement agency in response to such assemblage. Such person or persons shall be given a first warning, in the form of notification by the said senior peace officer as above described, that the first police response as above described, shall be deemed to be the normal police services provided. The police personnel necessarily utilized after such first warning to control the threat to the public peace, health, safety or general welfare shall be deemed to be on special security assignment over and above the normal services provided and the owner of the property and/or the person in charge of the property where such assemblage occurs, and/or the person responsible for such assemblage, shall be personally responsible for the cost of such special security assignment in an amount determined upon a cost accounting basis by the city. The cost of such special security assignment, shall include damage to city property and/or injuries to city personnel. A fee charged will not be in excess of five hundred dollars for a single incident. The city reserves its legal options to elect any other legal remedies when said costs or damage exceed five hundred dollars.

(Ord. 631 § 1, 1987)