519.01     Declaration of policy.

519.02     Definitions.

519.03     Applicability.

519.04     Noise Control Administrator.

519.05     Noise Control Officers.

519.06     Maximum permissible sound levels.

519.07     Procedures for the determination of sound levels.

519.08     Inspections.

519.09     Exceptions.

519.10     Restricted uses and activities.

519.11     Waiver.

519.12     Severability.

519.13     Notice of violation.

519.14     Other remedies.

519.99     Penalty.

     Whereas noise has been proven to have demonstrable adverse physiological, biochemical and psychological impacts on humans; and, whereas the noxious stimulus of noise has long been used as a laboratory model for producing stress; and whereas noise has been clearly implicated in sleep disturbance resulting in a cascade of negative effects; and, whereas the stress, tension and fatigue associated with long-term exposure to noise has destroyed marriages, cost people their jobs and forced other people to sell their houses at significant losses; and, whereas there are documented cases of arson, assault, murder and suicide arising from noise exposure or disputes; and whereas a substantial body of science and technology exists by which excessive sound may be substantially abated; and, whereas the people have a right to, and should be ensured of, an environment free from excessive sound; and, whereas every citizen has right to the peaceable enjoyment of their private property, and the usability of their commercial and industrial property.

     Now therefore, it is the policy of the City of Sandusky to prevent excessive sound that may jeopardize the health, welfare, or safety of the citizens or degrade the quality of life.

(Ord. 03-089.  Passed 4-14-03.)

     The following words and terms, when used in this chapter, shall have the following meanings, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise:

(a)     “A-weighted sound level” means the sound level as measured using the “A” weighting network with a sound level meter meeting the standards set forth in ANSI S1.4-1983 or its successors.  The unit of reporting is dB(A).  Sounds measured with the “A” weighting network approximate the response of human hearing when measuring sounds of low to moderate intensity.

(b)     “Agricultural activities” means those activities performed on farmlands in order to cultivate the soil, produce crops, or raise livestock.

(c)     “ANSI” means the American National Standards Institute, which serves as the administrator and coordinator of the United States private sector voluntary standardization system.  ANSI facilitates development of American National Standards (ANS’s) by establishing consensus among qualified groups.  ANS’s in the fields of acoustics and sound measurement are developed by the Acoustical Society of America in order to standardize practices and equipment.

(d)     “Boom box” means a colloquial term for self-contained, portable, hand-held music or sound amplification or reproduction equipment emitting sound that is audible at distances exceeding the permissible limits established within this chapter.

(e)     “Boom car” means a colloquial term for a personal or commercial vehicle with music amplification or reproduction equipment emitting sound that is audible at distances exceeding the permissible limits established within this chapter.

(f)     “C-weighted sound level” means the sound level as measured using the “C” weighting network with a sound level meter meeting the standards set forth in ANSI S1.4-1983 or its successors.  The unit of reporting is dB(C).  The “C” weighting network is more sensitive to low frequencies than is the “A” weighting network.

(g)     “Commercial facility” means any premises, property or facility involving traffic in goods or furnishing of services for sale or profit including, but not limited to:

(1)     Banking and other financial institutions;

(2)     Dining establishments;

(3)     Establishments for providing retail or wholesale services;

(4)     Establishments for recreation and entertainment;

(5)     Establishments providing commercial living accommodations and commercial property used for human habitation, when such is the source of the sound under investigation;

(6)     Establishments, providing living accommodations which exceed six dwelling units;

(7)     Office buildings;

(8)     Transportation;

(9)     Warehouses.

(h)     “Community service facility” means any non-residential facility used to provide services to the public, including but not limited to:

(1)     Club meeting halls, offices and facilities;

(2)     Organization offices and facilities;

(3)     Facilities for the support and practice of religion;

(4)     Private and parochial schools.

(i)     “Continuous sound” means any sound with a duration of more than one second, as measured with a sound level meter set to the “slow” meter response.  Impulsive sounds that are rapidly repetitive and have a duration of one second or longer shall be measured as continuous airborne sound.

(j)     “Construction” means any site preparation, assembly, erection, repair, alteration or similar action, including demolition of buildings or structures.

(k)     “Demolition” means any dismantling, destruction or removal of buildings, structures, or roadways.

(l)     “Decibel (dB)” means a relative unit for the measurement of sound pressure.  It is based upon a reference pressure of 20 micropascals (zero decibels) which is the average threshold of hearing for a human with acute hearing.  The decibel scale is logarithmic, and as such, an increase or decrease of 3 dB is a doubling or halving of sound pressure.

(m)     “Emergency energy release device” means a device used specifically to release excess energy on a non-scheduled basis as necessary for purposes of safety and not as a part of routine process control.

(n)     “Emergency work” means any work or action necessary to deliver essential public services including, but not limited to, repairing water, gas, electric, telephone, sewer facilities, or public transportation facilities, removing fallen trees on public rights-of-way, dredging navigational waterways, or abating threatening conditions.

(o)     “Extraneous sound” means a sound which is relatively intense, intermittent and of short duration and is neither part of the neighborhood residual sound, nor comes from the sound source under investigation.  These sources of sound are noted, but excluded from all measurements. 

(p)     “Frequency” means the time rate of repetition of sound waves in cycles per second, reported as Hertz (Hz).  “Frequency” is sometimes colloquially referred to as “pitch.”  Low frequency sounds can correspond to the bass notes in music.  Low frequency sound waves travel farther and penetrate structures more efficiently than high frequency sound waves.

(q)     “Impulsive sound” means either a single pressure peak or a single burst (multiple pressure peaks) that has a duration of less than one second.

(r)     “Industrial facility” means any activity and its related premises, property, facilities, or equipment involving the fabrication, manufacture, or production of durable or non-durable goods.

(s)     “Motor vehicle" means every vehicle propelled or drawn by power other than muscular power or power collected from overhead electric trolley wires, except motorized bicycles, road rollers, traction engines, power shovels, power cranes, and other equipment used in construction work and not designed for or employed in general highway transportation, hole-digging machinery, well-drilling machinery, ditch-digging machinery, farm machinery, trailers used to transport agricultural produce or agricultural production materials between a local place of storage or supply and the farm when drawn or towed on a street or highway at a speed of twenty-five miles per hour or less, threshing machinery, hay-baling machinery, agricultural tractors and machinery used in the production of horticultural, floricultural, agricultural, and vegetable products, and trailers designed and used exclusively to transport a boat between a place of storage and a marina, or in and around a marina, when drawn or towed on a street or highway for a distance of no more than ten miles and at a speed of twenty-five miles per hour or less. (O.R.C. 4511.01(B))

(t)     “Muffler” means a properly functioning sound dissipative device or system for abating the sound of escaping gasses on equipment where such a device is part of the normal configuration of the equipment.

(u)     “Multi-dwelling unit building” means any building comprising two or more dwelling units, including, but not limited to, apartments, condominiums, co-ops, multiple family houses, townhouses, and attached residences.

(v)     “Multi-use property” means any distinct parcel of land that is used for more than one category of activity.  Examples include, but are not limited to:

(1)     A commercial, residential, industrial or public service property having boilers, incinerators, elevators, automatic garage doors, air conditioners, laundry rooms, utility provisions, or health and recreational facilities, or other similar devices or areas, either in the interior or on the exterior of the building, which may be a source of elevated sound levels at another category on the same distinct parcel of land; or

(2)     A building, which is both commercial (usually on the ground floor) and residential property, located above, behind, below or adjacent.

(w)     “Neighborhood residual sound level” means that measured value, which represents the summation of the sound from all of the discrete sources affecting a given site at a given time, exclusive of extraneous sounds, and those from the source under investigation.  Neighborhood residual sound level is synonymous with background or ambient sound level.  Neighborhood residual sounds are differentiated from extraneous sounds by the fact that the former are more steady state, although they may not be continuous.

(x)     “Noise Control Officer” means a government employee who has received noise enforcement training and is currently certified in noise enforcement.  The employee must be acting within his or her designated jurisdiction and must be authorized to issue a summons in order to be considered a Noise Control Officer.  The provisions of this chapter that do not require the use of a sound level meter may be enforced by any certified police officer.

(y)     “Noise sensitive” means a facility whose operations may be detrimentally impacted by excessive sound levels.  Such facilities include but are not limited to:

(1)     Schools;

(2)     Houses of worship;

(3)     Outpatient medical facilities.

(z)     “Plainly audible” means any sound that can be detected by a person using his or her unaided hearing faculties.  As an example, if the sound source under investigation is a portable or personal vehicular sound amplification or reproduction device, the detection of the rhythmic bass component of the music is sufficient to verify plainly audible sound.  The Noise Control Officer need not determine the title, specific words, or the artist performing the song.

(aa)     “Private right-of-way” means any street, avenue, boulevard, road, highway, sidewalk, ally or easement that is owned, leased, or controlled by a non- governmental entity.

(bb)     “Public right-of-way” means any street, avenue, boulevard, road, highway, sidewalk, alley or easement that is owned, leased, or controlled by a governmental entity.

(cc)     “Public service facility” means any facility and its related premises, property or equipment used to provide governmental services to the public including, but not limited to:

(1)     Maintenance centers;

(2)     Offices and buildings of agencies or instrumentalities of government;

(3)     Schools;

(4)     Waste collection centers;

(5)     Waste recycling centers;

(6)     Water and sewage facilities.

(dd)     “Public property” means any real property or structures thereon that are owned, leased, or controlled by a governmental entity.

(ee)     “Real property line” means either:

(1)     The imaginary line including its vertical extension that separates one parcel of real property from another;

(2)     The vertical and horizontal boundaries of a dwelling unit that is part of a multi-dwelling unit building; or

(3)     On a multi-use property, the interface between the two portions of the property on which different categories of activity are being performed (e.g., if the multi-use property is a building which is residential upstairs and commercial downstairs, then the real property line would be the interface between the residential area and the commercial area).

(ff)     “Residential property” means property used for human habitation including, but not limited to:

(1)     Private property used for human habitation;

(2)     Commercial living accommodations and commercial property used for human habitation;

(3)     Recreational and entertainment property used for human habitation;

(4)     Community service property used for human habitation;

(5)     Hospitals or long-term care medical facilities.

(gg)     “Sound level meter”      means an instrument, which conforms to ANSI S1.4-1983 or its successors.

(hh)     “Total sound level” means that measured level which represents the summation of the sounds from the sound source under investigation and the neighborhood residual sounds which affect a given place at a given time, exclusive of extraneous sound sources.

(ii)     “Weekday” means any day that is not a federal holiday, and beginning on Monday at 7:00 a.m. and ending on the following Friday at 6:00 p.m.

(jj)     “Weekends” means beginning on Friday at 6:00 p.m. and ending on the following Monday at 7:00 a.m.

          (Ord. 03-089.  Passed 4-14-03.)

     (a)     This chapter applies to sound from the following property categories:

(1)     Industrial facilities;

(2)     Commercial facilities;

(3)     Public service facilities;

(4)     Community service facilities;

(5)     Residential properties;

(6)     Multi-use properties;

(7)     Public and private rights of way;

(8)     Public property; and

(9)     Multi-dwelling unit buildings.

     (b)     This chapter applies to sound received at the following property categories:

(1)     Commercial facilities;

(2)     Public service facilities;

(3)     Community service facilities;

(4)     Residential properties;

(5)     Multi-use properties;

(6)     Public and private rights of way;

(7)     Public property; and

(8)     Multi-dwelling unit buildings.

               (Ord. 03-089.   Passed 4-14-03.)

     The City Manager shall appoint a Noise Control Administrator.  The Noise Control Administrator shall have the power to:

(a)     Coordinate the noise control activities of all departments in the City of Sandusky and cooperate with all other public bodies and agencies to the extent practicable; and

(b)     Review the actions of the City of Sandusky and advise the City Manager of the effect, if any, of such actions on noise control; and

(c)     Review public and private projects, subject to mandatory review or approval by other City departments or boards, for compliance with this chapter; and

(d)     Promulgate and publish rules and procedures to establish techniques for measuring noise, and to provide for clarification, interpretation, and implementation of this chapter; and

(e)     Review at least every three (3) years the provisions of this chapter and recommend revisions consistent with technology to reduce noise, or to address new sound sources within the City of Sandusky.

          (Ord. 03-089.  Passed 4-14-03.)

     The provisions of this chapter may be enforced by Noise Control Officers.  A person shall be qualified to be a Noise Control Officer if the person meets the criteria set forth in the definition contained in Section 519.02 and completes, at a frequency specified by the Noise Control Administrator, a noise certification and re-certification course which has been approved by the Administrator.  The provisions of this chapter that do not require the use of a sound level meter or the provisions of any other applicable ordinances may be enforced by any certified police officer, whether qualified as a Noise Control Officer or not.

     Noise Control Officers shall have the power to:

(a)     Investigate and pursue possible violations of this chapter for sound levels which equal or exceed the sound levels set forth in Table I, when measured at a receiving property located within the designated jurisdiction of the Noise Control Officer, in accordance with Section 519.06 below.

(b)     While acting within his or her designated jurisdiction, enforce all of the provisions of this chapter including the criminal and civil penalties for any violations.

(c)     Cooperate with adjacent jurisdictions in enforcing one another’s noise ordinances.

          (Ord. 03-089.  Passed 4-14-03.)

     (a)     Continuous Sound.

(1)     No person shall cause, suffer, allow, or permit the operation of any source of sound on any source property listed in 519.03(a) above in such a manner as to create a sound level that exceeds the sound level limits listed in Table I, as measured at any location at or within the property line of the receptor property.  Sound pressure levels in excess of those established in Table I shall constitute prima facie evidence that such sound is in violation of this chapter.

(2)     These limits may not be exceeded by any single incident representing the normal, usual operation of the sound source, during any three sampling intervals, the duration of which shall be no less than one half minute, within any one hour period.  If the total duration of the sound under investigation is less than one and one half minute, the requirement for three measurements shall be waived.  For example, if a motor fan belt were to squeal for twenty seconds upon starting, but the sound were emitted with regularity from this source, a single measurement shall be sufficient.

(3)     Nothing in this section supersedes the requirements of employers to comply with the Occupational Noise Exposure Standard of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (29 CFR Part 1910.95).  Compliance will help conserve workers’ hearing, and reduce potential liability for the source.

     (b)     Impulsive Sound.

(1)     Between 8:00 a.m. and 9:00 p.m. impulsive sounds, which occur less than ten times in an hour shall not equal or exceed 20 decibels above the permissible sound level limits in Table I.  Impulsive sound which repeats ten or more times in any hour shall not exceed the permissible sound level limits in Table I.

(2)     Between the hours of 9:00 p.m. and 8:00 a.m., impulsive sounds which occur less than four times in an hour shall not equal or exceed 20 decibels above the permissible sound level limits in Table I.  Impulsive sound which repeats four or more times in any hour shall not exceed the permissible sound level limits in Table I.

     (c)     Amplified Sound Reproduction Device.  If the source of sound is an amplified sound reproduction device, and the complainant states that the rhythmic bass component of the music is disturbing within their residence then the Noise Control Officer shall be authorized to take sound level measurements within the residence of the complainant.  No person shall cause, suffer, allow, or permit the operation of any amplified source of sound in such a manner that it raises the total sound levels by the permissible sound level limits set forth in Table II when measured within the residence of a complainant.  These sound level measurements shall be conducted with the sound level meter set for “C” weighting, “fast” response.  Such measurements shall not be taken in areas, which receive only casual use such as hallways, closets and bathrooms.  For the purposes of these measurements, the neighborhood residual sound level is that sound level which is measured in the residence when the sound source under investigation is not prominent, or in a room on the same floor that is relatively unaffected by the sound source under investigation.  The C-scale is more sensitive to low frequency sound levels than the A-scale.  An increase of 3 dB is perceived by humans as being perceptibly louder, while an increase of 5 dB is perceived as being plainly louder.  At the lower bass frequencies of music an increase of 6 dB is perceived as a doubling of loudness.

     (d)     Steady Pure Tones.   If the sound source under investigation is a mechanical device, and is in the investigating Noise Control Officer’s opinion emitting a sound with a steady pure tonal quality, the permissible sound level limits in Table I shall be reduced by 5 dB(A).  The sound emissions must be comprised of a single frequency or a narrow cluster of frequencies, which may be referred to as a whine, hum or buzz.  The measured sound levels of such a source must not fluctuate by more than plus or minus 3dB.  Such sound sources include, but are not limited to, heating, ventilating or air-conditioning units; refrigeration units; and transformers.

(Ord. 03-089.  Passed 4-14-03.)

     (a)     When applicable, the sound level shall be measured with a sound level meter.  The sound level meter and calibrator must be re-certified annually at a laboratory approved by the Administrator.  A field check of meter calibration and batteries must be conducted before and after every set of measurements.

     (b)     Total and neighborhood residual sound level measurements shall be taken.  Calculation of source sound levels shall conform with accepted practice.

(Ord. 03-089.  Passed 4-14-03.)

     (a)     For the purpose of determining compliance with the provisions of this chapter, the Noise Control Administrator, any Noise Control Officer or any certified police officer in addition to any other authority, upon presentation of proper credentials, shall enter and inspect any dwelling, multi-family dwelling, building, structure, or premises within the City as may be necessary to enforce the provisions of this Chapter including taking sound level measurements and tests.  If permission is refused or is otherwise unobtainable, a search warrant shall be obtained to permit entry and access for the purpose of inspecting, testing, and measuring sound levels.

     (b)     It shall be unlawful for any person to refuse to allow or permit the Noise Control Administrator, any Noise Control Officer or any certified police officer free access to any premises when such person is acting in compliance with a search warrant.

     (c)     Misrepresentation to avoid compliance.  It shall be unlawful for any person to misrepresent or give any false information or in any way attempt to deceive the Noise Control Administrator, any Noise Control Officer or any certified police officer in order to avoid compliance with the provisions of this chapter.

(Ord. 03-089.  Passed 4-14-03.)

     The operational performance standards established in this chapter shall not apply to any of the following noise sources:

(a)     Agricultural activities;

(b)     Unamplified bells, chimes or carillons while being used in conjunction with an ongoing religious service;

(c)     Emergency energy release devices;

(d)     Emergency work;

(e)     National Warning System (NAWAS): systems used to warn the community of attack or imminent public danger such as flooding, explosion or hurricane;

(f)     Noise of aircraft operations;

(g)     Organized school-related programs, activities, or events; municipally authorized parades or public celebrations, programs, activities or events; municipally authorized non-commercial public speaking and public assembly activities conducted on any public property or public right-of-way;

(h)     Surface carriers engaged in commerce by railroad, exclusive of loading and unloading;

(i)     Sound from the locomotion of properly muffled motor vehicles on a public right of way;

(j)     Any authorized emergency vehicle when responding to an emergency call or acting in time of emergency;

(k)     Any owner of a licensed collector’s vehicle, a historical motor vehicle, or a collector’s vehicle that is an agricultural tractor or traction engine that was manufactured prior to the enactment of this chapter.

          (ORC 4513.41; Ord. 03-089.  Passed 4-14-03.)

     Notwithstanding the provisions of Table I and the exceptions above, the following standards shall apply to the activities or sources of sound set forth below:

(a)     Non-commercial or non-industrial power tools and landscaping and yard maintenance equipment shall not be operated between the hours of 8:00 p.m. and 8:00 a.m., unless such activities can meet the applicable limits set forth in Table I.  All motorized equipment used in these activities shall be operated with a muffler.  At all other times, the limits set forth in Table I do not apply to non- commercial or non-industrial power tools and landscaping and yard maintenance equipment.

(b)     Commercial or industrial power tools and landscaping and yard maintenance equipment, excluding emergency work, shall not be operated on a residential property or within 250 feet of a residential property line when operated on commercial or industrial property, between the hours of 6:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m. on weekdays, or between the hours of 6:00 p.m. and 9:00 a.m. on weekends or federal holidays, unless such activities can meet the limits set forth in Table I.  In addition, commercial or industrial power tools and landscaping and yard maintenance equipment, excluding emergency work, utilized on commercial or industrial property shall meet the limits set forth in Table I between the hours of 10:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m.  All motorized equipment used in these activities shall be operated with a muffler.  At all other times, the limits set forth in Table I do not apply to commercial or industrial power tools and landscaping and yard maintenance equipment;

(c)     Construction and demolition activity, excluding emergency work, shall not be performed between the hours of 6:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m. on weekdays, or between the hours of 6:00 p.m. and 9:00 a.m. on weekends and federal holidays, unless such activities can meet the limits set forth in Table I.  All motorized equipment used in construction and demolition activity shall be operated with a muffler.  At all other times, the limits set forth in Table I do not apply to construction and demolition activities;

(d)     An exterior burglar alarm of a building or motor vehicle must be activated in such a manner that the burglar alarm terminates its operation within five (5) minutes for continuous airborne sound and fifteen (15) minutes for impulsive sound after it has been activated.  At all times, the limits set forth in Table I do not apply;

(e)     Domesticated or caged non-farm animals may not bark, squeal, crow, howl, or make any other such noises for more than five (5) minutes if continuous or more than fifteen (15) minutes if intermittent.  At all times, the limits set forth in Table I do not apply;

(f)     Personal or commercial vehicular music amplification or reproduction equipment, including but not limited to vehicles referred to as “boom cars” or “broadcast vehicles”, shall not be operated in such a manner as to be plainly audible at a distance of 50 feet in any direction from the equipment at any time.

(1)     Certified police officers, after observing a violation of this section, are authorized to seize any sound amplification system which is readily removable and if not, to seize the motor vehicle containing the sound amplification system operated in violation of this chapter, and keep such system and/or motor vehicle as evidence pending the final disposition of any criminal complaint filed pursuant to this section and a Judgment of Forfeiture pursuant to the Ohio Revised Code, Sections 2933.41 through 2933.43.

(2)     If a criminal complaint is filed pursuant to this chapter, any vehicle seized pursuant to Section 519.10(f)(1) shall only be released prior to a final disposition of the criminal complaint pursuant to the following procedure:

     The owner of the vehicle or a family or household member of the owner of the vehicle, if different from the person charged with a violation of this chapter, shall file a motion with the Court if it is alleged that the seizure and retention of the motor vehicle will cause a hardship on the movant.  The Court, upon the filing of such a motion, shall notify the arresting officer and prosecutor and shall conduct a hearing to determine, by a preponderance of the evidence, that an undue hardship would be caused to the movant.  The Court shall, at the conclusion of the hearing, either order the motor vehicle to be retained as evidence pending the final disposition of the criminal charge or order the motor vehicle released to the movant after all costs of seizure and storage of the motor vehicle have been paid by movant.  No motion shall be granted by the Court if the movant knew or should have known that the motor vehicle was used, involved, or likely to be used in the conduct alleged to be a violation of this chapter or that the movant expressly or impliedly consented to the use of the motor vehicle in the conduct alleged to be a violation of this chapter.  No motion shall be granted by the Court by virtue of the existence of a lease agreement concerning the vehicle seized, unless subsequent to the hearing provided for herein, the Court finds by a preponderance of the evidence that an undue hardship would be caused to movant.

(g)     Self-contained, portable, hand-held music or sound amplification or reproduction equipment, including but not limited to devices referred to as “boom boxes”, radios, stereos, or any similar device, shall not be operated on public property or a public right-of-way in such a manner as to be plainly audible at a distance of 50 feet in any direction from the equipment between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 10:00 p.m.  Between the hours of 10:00 p.m. and 8:00 a.m., sound from such equipment shall not be plainly audible by any person other than the operator.

(h)     Snow removal from commercial or industrial property by any internal combustion device is permitted at all times if the snow removal equipment has a properly functioning muffler, except as follows on commercial or industrial facilities within 500 feet of any residential property.  Between the hours of 10:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m. snow removal is limited to:

(1)     A direct path between the public right-of-way and the place of business.

(2)     A direct path between fire hydrants and the place of business.

(3)     Employee parking only, clearing only the number of stalls necessary to accommodate employees for any shifts completed or begun between 10:00 p.m. and 8:00 a.m.

(4)     Customer parking only for facilities engaged in sales between 10:00 p.m. and 8:00 a.m.  If these parking stalls are within 500 feet of a residential property line, only 20 stalls may be cleared, and they must be located as far from the residential property line as is possible on the commercial property.  Any parking stall more than 500 feet from a residential property line may be cleared.

(i)     Snow removal from public rights-of-way, including side walks, whether abutting residential, commercial, industrial or public property is permitted at all times with a properly muffled snow blower, snow thrower, or street legal vehicle or lawn equipment with attached snow plow.  At all times the limits set forth in Table I do not apply.  (Ord. 03-089.  Passed 4-14-03.)

     (a)     The Noise Control Administrator shall have the authority, consistent with this section, to grant a waiver.  The waiver provided for in this section shall not apply to the restricted uses and activities contained in Section 519.10(f) and (g).

     (b)     Any person seeking a waiver pursuant to this section shall file an application in the Department of Community Development on forms provided by the Noise Control Administrator.  The application shall contain information, which demonstrates that bringing the source of sound, or activity for which the waiver is sought into compliance with this chapter would constitute an unreasonable hardship on the applicant, on the community, or on other persons.  Notice of an application for a waiver shall be given by the Noise Control Administrator by publication in a newspaper of general circulation in the City.  The Noise Control Administrator shall not approve an application less than 10 days after the public notice is published. Each application shall be accompanied by a fee as set forth by the City Manager and approved by the City Commission to cover expenses resulting from the publication and administration of the waiver application.  Any person who claims to be adversely affected by allowance of the waiver may file a statement with the Noise Control Administrator containing any information to support his/her claim.

     (c)     In determining whether to grant or deny the application, the Noise Control Administrator shall balance the hardship to the applicant, the community, and other persons of not granting the waiver against the adverse impact on the health, safety and welfare of persons affected, the adverse impact on property affected, and any other adverse impacts of granting the waiver.  Applicants for waiver and persons contesting waiver may be required to submit any information the Noise Control Administrator may reasonably require.  In granting or denying an application, the Noise Control Administrator shall place for public view in the Department of Community Development a copy of the decision and the reasons for denying or granting the waiver. 

     (d)     A waiver shall be granted by notice to the applicant containing all necessary conditions, including a time limit on the activity.  Any regulations of time, place and manner shall be independent of the content of the speech.  The waiver shall not become effective until all conditions are agreed to by the applicant.  Noncompliance with any conditions of the waiver shall terminate it and subject the person holding it to those provisions of this chapter regulating the source of the sound or activity for which the waiver was granted.

     (e)     Application for extension of time limits specified in the waiver or for modifications of other substantial conditions shall be treated like applications for an initial waiver.

     (f)     The Noise Control Administrator may issue guidelines approved by resolution of City Commission defining the procedures to be followed in applying for a waiver and the criteria to be considered in deciding whether to grant a waiver.

     (g)     The decision of the Noise Control Administrator may be appealed by the person denied the waiver or by any person claiming to be adversely affected by allowance of the waiver.  Such appeal shall be made to the Planning Commission, and review by the Planning Commission shall be final.  (Ord. 03-089.  Passed 4-14-03.)

     If any provision or portion of a provision of this chapter is held to be unconstitutional, preempted by federal or state law, or otherwise invalid by any court of competent jurisdiction, the remaining provisions of the chapter shall not be invalidated.

(Ord. 03-089.  Passed 4-14-03.)

     A violation of any provision of this chapter, except for Sections 519.10(f) and (g), shall be cause for a Notice of Violation to be issued by the Noise Control Administrator, a Noise Control Officer or any certified police officer. 

(Ord. 04-104.  Passed 6-14-04.)

     Nothing in this chapter shall be construed to permit conduct prohibited by any other statute, ordinance or regulation, or prohibit enforcement thereof.

(Ord. 03-089.  Passed 4-14-03.)

     (a)     Criminal Prosecution.

          (1)     In lieu of issuing a notice of violation as provided for in Section 519.13, any Noise Control Officer or certified police officer may issue an order requiring the immediate abatement of a source of sound alleged to be in violation of this chapter.

          (2)     Any person found guilty of a first violation of Section 519.10(f) or (g) of this chapter shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor of the third degree and shall be fined not less than three hundred dollars ($300.00).

A person found guilty of a second violation of Section 519.10(f) or (g) within two years shall be fined not less than four hundred dollars ($500.00).

A person found guilty of a third and subsequent violation(s) of Section 519.10(f) or (g) within two years shall be fined not less than five hundred  dollars ($500.00).

          (3)     A first violation of any other section of this chapter shall be a minor misdemeanor.

          (4)     Any subsequent violations of any other section of this chapter shall each be a misdemeanor of the fourth degree.  Each day such violation is committed or permitted to continue   shall be considered a separate offense.

     (b)     Civil Action.

          (1)     An action for injunctive relief may be brought by the City in a court of competent jurisdiction against any person who has violated any provision of this chapter except Section 519.10(f) or (g).  Every day during which the violation continues shall constitute an additional, separate and distinct offense.

          (2)     Any person who violates any of the provisions, except Section 519.10(f) or (g) of this chapter shall be liable for the actual attorneys’ fees, expenses (including expert witness fees), and costs incurred in establishing that violation in a civil action.

     (c)     Other Remedies.   The rights and remedies provided by this chapter are in addition to any other rights and remedies provided by law.

(Ord. 04-104.  Passed 6-14-04.)