Torrance Municipal Code § 46.1 General Provisions

It is hereby 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.

(Amended by O-2466; O-3914)

As used in this Chapter, 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, without inclusion of intruding noises from isolated identifiable sources.

b) Decibel (db) shall mean a unit of level which denotes the ratio between two (2) quantities which are proportional to power; the number of decibels corresponding to the ratio to two (2) amounts of power is ten (10) times the logarithm to the base ten (10) of this ratio.

c) Emergency or utility power outages shall mean any City, County or State declared emergency, or interruption of utility power due to preventive utility shut-off measures or due to damage to utility infrastructure from accidents, earthquakes, fires, floods, storms, winds, or their acts; or any event deemed to be an emergency by City officials to preserve and protect life and property.

d) Emergency work shall mean 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.

e) Noise level, in decibels, is the A-weighted sound pressure level as measured using the slow dynamic characteristic for sound level meters specified in ASA S1.4-1961, American Standard Specification for General Purpose Sound Level Meters, or latest revision thereof. The reference pressure is twenty (20) micronewtons/square meter (2 x 10-4 microbar).

f) Person shall mean a person, firm, association, co-partnership, joint venture, corporation or any entity, public or private in nature.

g) Sound level meter shall mean 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 as specified in ASA S1.4-1961, American Standard Specification for General Purpose Sound Level Meters, or latest revision thereof.

h) Sound pressure level, in decibels (db) of a sound is twenty (20) times the logarithm to the base ten (10) of the ratio of the pressure of this sound to the reference pressure. For the purpose of this Chapter the reference pressure shall be twenty (20) micronewtons/square meter (2 x 10-4 microbar).

i) Impulsive sound means a short duration sound (such as might be produced by the impact of a drop hammer or pile driver) with one (1) second or less duration.

j) Motor vehicles shall include, but not be limited to, minibikes and go carts.

k) Routine testing of stationary generators for residential use shall mean the required and routine testing per manufacturers’ recommendations to maintain and keep ready stationary generators for residential use. However, such routine testing shall not occur more than once a week for a time period longer than 30 minutes and only between the hours of 10:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m., Monday – Friday.

l) Sound amplifying equipment shall mean 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.

m) Sound truck shall mean 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.

n) Stationary generator for residential use shall mean any Underwriters Laboratories (UL) listed, or third party listed by an agency approved by the City of Torrance, natural gas and/or propane fired generator permanently installed and connected to the building’s electrical system with building permits issued by the City, and only intended to provide power during emergencies or utility power outages. Generators must meet the setback requirements of the applicable zone and have a maximum capacity of 24kW.

o) Commercial purpose shall mean and include 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.

p) Noncommercial purpose shall mean the use, operation or maintenance of any sound equipment for other than a commercial purpose. Noncommercial purposes shall mean and include, but shall not be limited to, philanthropic, political, patriotic and charitable purposes.

q) Residential land shall mean that land which is utilized for residential purposes or zoned for residential purposes.

r) Residential purpose means any purpose involving routine and relatively permanent use of a building as a dwelling, as opposed to relatively transient uses such as hotels and motels.

s) Day means the time period from 7:00 A.M. to 10:00 P.M.

t) Night means the time period from 10:00 P.M. to 7:00 A.M.

Noise levels shall be measured with a sound level meter satisfying the requirements of ASA S1.4-1961, American Standard Specification for General Purpose Sound Level Meters, or latest revision thereof. Noise level of steady or slowly varying sounds shall be measured using the slow dynamic characteristic of the sound level meter and by reading the central tendency of the needle. Noise level of impulse sounds shall be measured using the fast dynamic characteristic of the sound level meter and by reading the maximum indication of the needle.