The Franklin Reporter & Advocate Eight Villages, One Community
An ordinance amendment that is seen as making it easier for police to crack down on excessive noise was introduced at the October 22 Township Council meeting.
The amendment would scrap the existing noise ordinance and move “noise nuisances” to the Township’s overall Nuisance ordinance.
What the change means is that noise complaints would no longer have to meet a state-mandated threshold of decibel levels to trigger enforcement.
It also means that the Township will not have to have a certified decibel meter operator respond to noise complaints in an effort to gauge whether the noise generated exceeds the threshold in the noise ordinance.
Public Safety Director Quovella Maeweather told the Council at its October 8 meeting that the current noise ordinance is almost impossible to enforce because of the requirements set by the state.
Township Attorney Lou Rainone told the Council that the amendment was necessary to defend the Council’s 2023 ordinance amendment restricting the activities of industrial-related loading and unloading activities on commercial properties that front Scenic Corridors and are next to or across the street from residential properties.
The change was seen as a way to restrict the activities of the so-called B9 two-warehouse development that was proposed for a tract across from the Canal Walk development. The proposed development was denied by the Planning Board in September 2023, which is now the subject of an appeal.
The proposed amendment introduced by the Council on October 22 generally prohibits “a person to make, continue or cause to be made or continued any loud, unnecessary or unusual noise or any noise which does or is likely to annoy, disturb, injure or endanger the comfort, repose, health, peace or safety of others.”
Specifically, the ordinance amendment prohibits from the following sources, at the indicated hours, noise that can be heard 200 feet away from where it emanates, or in a “neighboring dwelling:”
- Radios, televisions, phonographs and instruments, between the hours of 10:00 p.m. and 8:00 a.m.
- Non-commercial or non-industrial and landscaping and yard maintenance equipment, weekdays between the hours of 8:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m., or between the hours of 8:00 p.m. and 9:00 a.m. on weekends or federal holidays.
- Commercial and industrial tools and landscaping and yard maintenance equipment, 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.
- Construction and demolition activity, excluding emergency work, between the hours of 6:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m. weekdays, or between the hours of 6:00 p.m. and 9:00 a.m. on weekends and federal holidays.
- Motorized snowblowers, snow throwers, and lawn equipment with attached snowplows shall be operated at all times with a muffler.
- Electric generators, when used for reasons other than a loss of power, shall not be operated between the hours of 6:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m. weekdays, or between the hours of 6:00 p.m. and 9:00 a.m. on weekends and federal holidays.
The amendment also incorporates from the noise ordinance a number of prohibitions, including the prohibition of loading and unloading material on non-residential property that has frontage or abuts or is across the street from a Scenic Corridor between the hours of 10:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m. on the following day on weekdays and between the hours of 8:00 p.m. and 9:00 a.m. the following day on weekends or federal holidays.
The use of vehicles that use backup beepers on non-residential property that abuts or is across a street from residential property and fronts on a Scenic Corridor is restricted to the hours of 10:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m. the following day on weekdays and between the hours of 8:00 p.m. and 9:00 a.m. the following day on weekends or federal holidays.
The ordinance also prohibits the amplification of sound or music from a vehicle that can be heard on a residential property between 10 p.m. and 8 a.m., or plainly heard anywhere 50 feet from the vehicle between the hours of 8 a.m. and 10 p.m.
The ordinance also mandates that “Self-contained, portable, hand-held music or sound amplification or reproduction equipment shall not be operated on a public space or public right-of-way in such a manner
as to be plainly audible at a distance of 50 feet in any direction from the operator 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.”
Fireworks displays cannot contain “reports” or “salutes,” and can only be conducted between 9-10 p.m.
The penalty portion of the amendment was tweaked by the Council before it was introduced.
Originally, the amendment called for a first offense penalty of $500 and $1,000 for each subsequent offense.
The change was initiated by Mayor Phil Kramer, who said he thought the initial penalty “was a bit steep.”
“So I’m saying we go to $250 for first, $500 per second, $1,000 for third and thereafter,” Kramer said.
That elicited some discussion among Council members, until Rainone noted that every other ordinance penalty in the Township starts at $100.
“I just wanted to let you know the general violation penalty that we have has a minimum of a $100 fine for the first offense,” he said.
“So you’re suggesting $100 instead of $250?” Kramer asked.
“What I’m suggesting is that if almost every section of our code says that we use the general penalty that’s contained in Article 1, Section 3,” Rainone said. “My suggestion is just continue to do that.”
“But we could do $100, $500, and $1,000,” Kramer said.
The Council ultimately settled on the Mayor’s suggestion.
The amendment’s second hearing is scheduled for the Council’s November 12 meeting.
