Torrance Municipal Code Art. 8 Airport Noise Limits

It shall be unlawful for any person to pilot or operate or permit to be piloted or operated an aircraft in violation of the provisions of Sections 46.8.8., 46.8.9. or 46.8.14.

For the purposes of this Article, the term extended airport boundaries shall mean the area enclosed by Lomita Boulevard on the north, Crenshaw Boulevard on the east, Pacific Coast Highway on the south and Hawthorne Boulevard on the west.

(Amended by O-3270)

For the purposes of this Article, take-off shall mean the flight of an aircraft departing Torrance Airport from the time it commences on its departure on the runway.

(Amended by O-3270)

For the purposes of this Article, landing shall mean the flight of an aircraft from the time it begins its landing approach until it is taxied from the runway.

For the purposes of this Article, the sound exposure level is the level of sound accumulated during a given event, with reference to a duration of one second. More specifically, sound exposure level, in decibels, is the level of the time-integrated A-weighted squared sound pressure for a stated time interval or event, based on the reference pressure of 20 micronewtons per square meter and reference duration of one second.

For the purposes of this Article, the single event noise exposure level (SENEL), in decibels, is the sound exposure level of a single event, such as an aircraft fly-by, measured over the time interval between the initial and final times for which the sound level of a single event exceeds the threshold sound level. For implementation of the provisions of this Article, the threshold noise level shall be at least 20 decibels below the numerical value of the single event noise exposure level limits specified in Sections 46.8.8. or 46.8.9. as the case may be.

For the purposes of this Article, the maximum sound level, in decibels, is the highest sound level reached at any instant of time during the time interval used in measuring the sound exposure level of a single event.

Except as provided in Section 46.8.10., no aircraft taking off from or landing on the Torrance Municipal Airport may exceed a single event noise exposure level (SENEL) of 88 dBA or a maximum sound level of 82 dBA measured at ground level outside the extended Airport boundaries.

(Amended by O-3284)

Notwithstanding the provisions of Section 46.8.8., except as provided in Section 46.8.10., no aircraft taking off from or landing on the Torrance Municipal Airport between the hours of 10:00 P.M. of any day and 7:00 A.M. of the following morning on any Monday through Friday inclusive, nor between the hours of 10:00 P.M. each night and 8:00 A.M. of the following morning on any Saturday or Sunday inclusive, nor on any of the following holidays: New Year’s Day, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day; provided, however, that if any such holiday falls on a Saturday or Sunday, the observance of which is then moved to the preceding Friday, or the following Monday, then such Friday or Monday shall be considered to be a holiday for purposes of this section, may exceed a single event noise exposure level (SENEL) of 82 dBA or a maximum sound level of 76 dBA measured at ground level outside the extended Airport boundaries.

(Amended by O-3382)

The following categories of aircraft shall be exempt from the provisions of Sections 46.8.8. and 46.8.9.:

1. Aircraft operated by the United States of America or the State of California;

2. Law enforcement, emergency, fire or rescue aircraft operated by any county or city of said state;

3. Aircraft used for emergency purposes during an emergency that has been officially proclaimed by competent authority pursuant to the laws of the United States, said State or the City;

4. Civil Air Patrol aircraft when engaged in actual search and rescue missions;

5. Aircraft engaged in landings or takeoffs while conducting tests under the direction of the Airport Manager in an attempt to rebut the presumption of aircraft noise violation pursuant to the provisions of Section 46.8.13

6. Aircraft while participating in a City-sponsored event approved by City Council.

In the case of any training flight in which both an instructor pilot and a student pilot are in the aircraft which is flown in violation of any of the provisions of this Article, the instructor pilot shall be rebuttably presumed to have caused such violation.

For purposes of this Article, the beneficial owner of an aircraft shall be presumed to be the pilot of the aircraft with authority to control the aircraft’s operations, except that where the aircraft is leased, the lessee shall be presumed to be the pilot. Such presumption may be rebutted only if the owner or lessee identifies the person who in fact was the pilot at the time of the asserted violation.

(See Section 51.7.2. et seq. concerning denial of the use of the Airport for repeated violations of this Article.)

In the event that the Airport Manager determines to his reasonable satisfaction that available published noise measurements for a particular type or class of aircraft indicate that it cannot meet the noise levels set forth in Sections 46.8.8. and 46.8.9., it shall be presumed that operation of such aircraft will result in violation of the provisions of Sections 46.8.8. and 46.8.9. and such aircraft will not be permitted to land on, tie down on, be based at or take off from the Torrance Municipal Airport, except in emergencies as set forth in Section 51.4.2.; provided, however, that the owner or operator of such aircraft shall be entitled to rebut such presumption to the reasonable satisfaction of the Airport Manager by furnishing evidence to the contrary.

The Director of Building and Safety, the Administrator of Environmental Quality, the Environmental Quality Officers and such other City employees as are designated by the Director of Building and Safety with the approval of the City Manager, all acting under the direction and control of the City Manager, shall have the duty and authority to enforce the provisions of this Article, pursuant to the provisions of Section 836.5 of the State Penal Code.