Redondo Beach Municipal Code Art. 1 General Provisions

In order to control unnecessary, excessive, and annoying sounds emanating from all areas of the City, it is hereby declared to be the policy of the City to prohibit such sound generated from all sources as specified in this chapter.

It is determined that certain noise levels are detrimental to the public health, welfare, and safety and contrary to the public interest; therefore, the Council does ordain and declare that creating, maintaining, or causing, or allowing to create, maintain, or cause, any noise in a manner prohibited by, or not in conformance with, the provisions of this chapter is a public nuisance and shall be punishable as such.

(§ 1, Ord. 2183 c.s., eff. August 11, 1976)

All terminology used in this chapter, not defined in this section, shall be in conformance with the applicable publications of the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) or its successor body. The words and phrases used in this chapter are defined as follows:

"A-weighted sound level"

shall mean the sound pressure level in decibels as measured on a sound level meter using the A-weighting network. The level so read is designated dB(A) or dBA.

"Ambient noise level"

shall mean the composite of noise from all sources, near and far. In this context, the ambient noise level constitutes the normal or existing level of environmental noise at a given location.

"Construction"

shall mean any site preparation, assembly, erection, or substantial repair, alteration, or similar action, but excluding demolition, for or on public or private rights-of-way, structures, utilities, or similar property.

"Cumulative period"

shall mean an additive period of time composed of individual time segments which may be continuous or interrupted.

"Decibel (dB)"

shall mean a unit for measuring the amplitude of a sound, equal to 20 times the logarithm to the base 10 of the ratio of the pressure of the sound measured to the reference pressure, which is 20 microPascals (20 microNewtons per square meter).

"Demolition"

shall mean any dismantling, intentional destruction, or removal of structures, utilities, public or private right-of-way surfaces, or similar property.

"Emergency"

shall mean any occurrence or set of circumstances involving actual or imminent physical trauma or property damage which demands immediate action.

"Emergency work"

shall mean any work performed for the purpose of preventing or alleviating the physical trauma or property damage threatened or caused by an emergency.

"Fixed noise source"

shall mean a stationary device which creates sounds while fixed or motionless, including, but not limited to, residential, agricultural, industrial, and commercial machinery and equipment, pumps, fans, compressors, air-conditioners, and refrigeration equipment.

"Impulsive sound"

shall mean a sound of short duration, usually less than one second, with an abrupt onset and rapid decay. Examples of sources of impulsive sound include explosions, drop forge impacts, and the discharge of firearms.

"Intrusive noise"

shall mean that noise which intrudes over and above the existing ambient noise at a given location. The relative intrusiveness of a sound depends upon its amplitude, duration, frequency, time of occurrence, and tonal or informational content, as well as the prevailing ambient noise level.

"Land use district"

shall mean all the zones established by Section 10-2.300 of Chapter 2 of Title 10 of this Code.

"Licensed"

shall mean the issuance of a formal license or a permit by the appropriate jurisdictional authority, or, where no permits or licenses are issued, the sanctioning of the activity by the jurisdiction as noted in public records.

"Mobile noise source"

shall mean any noise source other than a fixed noise source.

"Motor vehicle"

shall mean any and all self-propelled vehicles as defined in the Vehicle Code of the State, including all on-highway type motor vehicles subject to registration under said Code and all off-highway type motor vehicles subject to identification under said Code.

"Muffler or sound dissipative device"

shall mean a device for abating the sound of escaping gases of an internal combustion engine.

"Noise"

shall mean any sound which annoys, disturbs, causes, or tends to cause an adverse psychological or physiological effect on humans of normal sensitiveness.

"Noise control officer (NCO)"

shall be the Chief of Police or his delegated representative. The NCO shall have the lead responsibility for the enforcement of the provisions of this chapter.

"Noise disturbance"

shall mean any sound which:

(1)

Endangers or injures the safety or health of humans; or

(2)

Annoys or disturbs a person of normal sensitiveness; or

(3)

Endangers or injures personal or real property.

"Person"

shall mean any individual, association, partnership, or corporation and shall include any officer, employee, department, agency, or instrumentality of the State.

"Presumed ambient noise level"

shall mean the noise level assumed to be the ambient of any given land use category.

"Public right-of-way"

shall mean any street, avenue, boulevard, highway, sidewalk, alley, or similar place which is owned or controlled by a governmental entity.

"Public space (public property)"

shall mean any real property, or structure thereon, which is owned or controlled by a governmental entity.

"Pure tone (single tone)"

shall mean any sound which can be distinctly heard as a single pitch or a set of single pitches. For the purposes of this chapter, a pure tone shall exist if the 1/3 octave band sound pressure level in the band with the tone exceeds the arithmetic average of the sound pressure levels of the two contiguous 1/3 octave bands by five dB for center frequencies of 500 Hz and above, by eight dB for center frequencies between 160 and 400 Hz, and by 15 dB for center frequencies less than or equal to 125 Hz.

"Real property boundary, property lines, leasehold boundaries"

shall mean an imaginary line along the ground surface and its vertical extension, which line separates the real property or leasehold owned or controlled by one person from that owned or controlled by another person, including intra-building real or leased property divisions.

"Receiving land use district category"

shall mean the defined area or region of a generally consistent land use wherein the ambient noise levels are generally similar (within a range of five dBA) Typically, all sites within any given land use district category will be of comparable proximity to major noise sources.

"Sound"

shall mean an oscillation in pressure, particle displacement, particle velocity, or other physical parameter in a medium with internal forces that cause the compression and rearfaction of that medium. The description of sound may include any characteristic of such sound, including duration, intensity, and frequency.

"Sound amplifying equipment"

shall mean any machine or device for the amplification of the human voice, music, or any other sound, excluding internal automobile sound sources when used and heard only by the occupants of the vehicle in which such sound source is contained, and, as used in this chapter, warning and communication devices on public health and safety vehicles.

"Sound level"

shall mean the weighted sound pressure level obtained by the use of a sound level meter and frequency weighting network, such as A, B, or C as specified in the American National Standards Institute specifications for sound level meters (ANSI S 1.4-1971, or the latest approved revision thereof). If the frequency weighting employed is not indicated, the A-weighting shall apply.

"Sound level meter"

shall mean an instrument, including a microphone, an amplifier, an output meter, and frequency weighting networks for the measurement of sound levels, which instrument satisfies the requirements pertinent for type S2A meters in the American National Standard specifications for sound level meters (S 1.4-1971, or the most recent revision thereof).

"Sound pressure"

shall mean the instantaneous difference between the actual pressure and the average or barometric pressure at a given point in space as produced by sound energy.

"Sound pressure level"

shall mean 20 times the logarithm to the base 10 of the ratio of the RMS sound pressure to the reference pressure of 20 microPascals (20 x 10 6 N/m2). The sound pressure level is denoted LP or SPL and is expressed in decibels.

"Sound truck"

shall mean any motor vehicle, or any other vehicle, except public health and safety vehicles, regardless of motive power, whether in motion or stationary, having mounted thereon or attached thereto any sound amplifying equipment.

"Vibration"

shall mean the mechanical motion of the earth or ground, buildings, or other types of structures induced by the operation of any mechanical device or equipment located upon or affixed thereto. For the purposes of this chapter, the magnitude of the vibration shall be stated as the acceleration in "g" bunits (one "g" is equal to 32.2 ft/sec2 or 9.31 meters/sec2).

"Weekday"

shall mean any day, Monday through Friday, which is not a legal holiday.

(§ 1, Ord. 2183 c.s., eff. August 11, 1976, as amended by § 1(37), Ord. 2844 c.s., eff. November 4, 1999)