South Pasadena Municipal Code Art. 6 General Noise

19A.22 Findings.

19A.23 Noise, prohibition of.

19A.24 Railroad crossings.

19A.25 Repealed by Ordinance No. 2134

19A.25B Repealed by Ordinance No. 2134.

19A.26 Loud or unruly gatherings. ARTICLE 1. GENERAL PROVISIONS

19A.1 Declaration of policy.

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 interests shall be systematically proscribed. (Ord. No. 1582.)

19A.2 Definitions.

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

(a) “A” BAND LEVEL. “A” band level means the total sound level of all noise as measured with a sound level meter using the “A” weighting network. The unit is the dbA.

(b) AMBIENT NOISE. “Ambient Noise” means the all-encompassing noise associated with a given environment, usually being a composite of sounds with many sources near and far.

(c) BAND PRESSURE LEVEL. “Band pressure level” of a sound for a specified frequency band means the sound pressure level for the sound contained within the restricted band.

(d) CYCLE. “Cycle” means the complete sequence of values of a periodic quantity which occurs during a period.

(e) DECIBEL. “Decibel” (db) means a unit of level which denotes the ratio between two quantities which are proportional to power; 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.

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

(g) FREQUENCY. “Frequency” of a function periodic in time means the reciprocal of the primitive period. The unit is the cycle per unit time and shall be specified.

(h) MICROBAR. “Microbar” means a unit of pressure commonly used in acoustics and is equal to one dyne per square centimeter.

(i) PERIOD. “Period” of a periodic quantity means the smallest increment of time for which the function repeats itself.

(j) PERIODIC QUANTITY. “Periodic quantity” means oscillating quantity, the values of which recur for equal increments of time.

(k) PERSON. “Person” means a person, firm, association, copartnership, joint venture, corporation, or any entity, public or private in nature.

(l) SOUND ANALYZER. “Sound analyzer” means a device for measuring the band pressure level or pressure spectrum level of a sound as a function of frequency.

(m) SOUND-LEVEL METER. “Sound-level meter” means an instrument including a microphone, an amplifier, an output meter, and frequency weighting networks for the measurement of noise and sound levels in a specified manner.

(n) SOUND PRESSURE LEVEL. “Sound pressure level” in decibels, of a sound means twenty times the logarithm to the base ten of the ratio of the pressure of this sound to the reference pressure, which reference pressure shall be explicitly stated.

(o) SPECTRUM. “Spectrum” of a function of time means a description of its resolution into components, each of a different frequency.

(p) MOTOR VEHICLES. “Motor vehicles” includes, but shall not be limited to, mini-bikes and go-carts.

(q) SOUND AMPLIFYING EQUIPMENT. “Sound amplifying equipment” means any machine or device for the amplification of the human voice, music, or any other sound. “Sound amplifying equipment” shall not include standard automobile radios when used and heard only by the occupants of the vehicle in which the automobile radio is installed. “Sound amplifying equipment,” as used in this chapter, shall not include warning devices on authorized emergency vehicles or horns or other warning devices on any vehicle used only for traffic safety purposes.

(r) SOUND TRUCK. “Sound truck” means any motor vehicle, or any other vehicle regardless of motive power, whether in motion or stationary, having mounted thereon, or attached thereto, any sound amplifying equipment.

(s) COMMERCIAL PURPOSE. “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, or for the purpose of demonstrating any such sound equipment.

(t) NONCOMMERCIAL PURPOSE. “Noncommercial purpose” means the use, operation, or maintenance of any sound equipment for other than a “commercial purpose.” “Noncommercial purpose” means and includes, but shall not be limited to, philanthropic, political, patriotic, and charitable purposes. (Ord. No. 1582.)

19A.3 Decibel measurement criteria.

Any decibel measurement made pursuant to the provisions of this chapter shall be based on a reference sound pressure of 0.0002 microbars as measured in any octave band with center frequency, in cycles per second, as follows: 63, 125, 250, 500, 1,000, 2,000, 4,000 and 8,000 or as measured with a sound level meter using the “A” weighting. (Ord. No. 1582.)

19A.4 Violations: Misdemeanors.

Any person violating any of the provisions of this chapter shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor. Each day such violation is committed or permitted to continue shall constitute a separate offense and shall be punishable as such. (Ord. No. 1582,; Ord. No. 1983, § 43.)

19A.5 Violations: Additional remedies: Injunctions.

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 cause 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. No. 1582.)

19A.6 Severability.

If any provision, clause, sentence or paragraph of this chapter, or the application thereof to any person or circumstances, shall be held invalid, such invalidity shall not affect the other provisions or application of the provisions of this chapter which can be given effect without the invalid provisions or application and, to this end, to provisions of this chapter are declared to be severable. (Ord. No. 1582.)