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ORDINANCE # 21: NOISE CONTROL ORDINANCE
Watertown Charter Township
CLINTON COUNTY, MICHIGAN
PROPOSED ORDINANCE NO. 21
NOISE CONTROL ORDINANCE
PLEASE TAKE NOTICE that at a regular meeting of the Township Board of the Charter Township of Watertown, Clinton County, Michigan, duly called and held on the 20th day of July, 1992, there were present: Supervisor Edward McKeon, Clerk Phyllis Rathbun, Treasurer Janet Mallison, Trustees Dan Gorman, Gloria Miller, and Dan McNeil; Absent: Pam Porterfield.
The following Ordinance was offered by McNeil and supported by Gorman and the second reading was held.
ORDINANCE NO. 21
WATERTOWN CHARTER TOWNSHIP
NOISE CONTROL ORDINANCE
WATERTOWN CHARTER TOWNSHIP, CLINTON COUNTY, MICHIGAN, HEREBY ORDAINS:
Section 1. SHORT TITLE
This Ordinance shall be known as “The Watertown Charter Township Noise Ordinance.”
Section 2. PURPOSE
AN ORDINANCE TO CONTROL SOUND AND NOISE; AND TO PROVIDE FOR PENALTIES FOR VIOLATION THEREOF.
It is found and declared that excessive, unnecessary or unusually load noises within the limits of Watertown Charter Township is a condition which has existed for some time and the extent and volume of such noise is increasing.
The making, creation or maintenance of such excessive, unnatural or unusually loud noises which are prolonged, unusual or unnatural in the time, place or use affect and are a detriment to the public health, comfort, convenience, safety, welfare and prosperity of the residents of Watertown Charter Township.
The necessity in the public interest for the provisions and prohibitions contained and enacted in this Ordinance is declared as a matter of legislative determination and public policy, and it is further declared that the provisions and prohibitions contained and enacted in this Ordinance are in pursuance of and for the purpose of securing and promoting the public health, comfort, convenience, safety, welfare, prosperity and the peace and quiet of Watertown Charter Township and its inhabitants.
SECTION 3. SCOPE
This Ordinance shall apply to the control of specific sounds, originating from property within the limits of Watertown Charter Township, unless an exception is set forth in Section 6 of this Ordinance.
SECTION 4. DEFINITIONS
Audible means sound being heard or the capability of being heard by a person(s) with ordinary hearing.
Agricultural areas means the areas which allow the possession and keeping of animals such as, but not limited to, horses, cows, sheep, goats, chickens and other animals commonly found on agricultural use properties.
Construction means any site preparation, assembly, erection, substantial repair, alteration or similar action, but excludes demolition for or of public or private right-of-way surfaces or similar property.
Demolition means any dismantling, intentional destruction, or removal of structures, utilities, public or private right-of-way surfaces, or similar property.
Emergency means any situation or set of circumstances involving actual or imminent physical trauma or property damage which demands immediate attention.
Emergency Work means any work performed for the purpose of preventing or alleviating physical trauma or property damage threatened or caused by an emergency.
Holiday means New Years Day, Easter, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day.
Industrial Property means land, land improvements, buildings, structures and other real property and machinery, equipment and fixtures, or any part thereof whether completed or in the process of construction comprising an integrated whole, the primary purpose and use of which is the manufacture of goods or material or the processing of goods and materials by physical or chemical change and shall include agricultural processing facilities. Industrial properties shall include facilities related to the manufacturing operation and under the same ownership or control, provided such property is contiguous to the manufacturing operation. Such property shall include, but not be limited to, manufacturing, warehousing, grain elevators, sewer treatment plants, electrical producing facilities, research and development facilities.
Motor Vehicle means any vehicle which is propelled or drawn on land by a motor, such as, but not limited to, passenger cars, trucks, truck-trailers, campers, go-carts, snowmobiles, amphibious craft on land, dune buggies, all-terrain vehicles or racing vehicles, but not including motorcycles.
Motorcycle means an unenclosed motor vehicle having a saddle or seat for the use of the operator and two or three wheels in contract with the ground, including, but not limited to, motor scooters, minibikes and motor propelled bicycles.
Muffler means a device used for lessening the sound of escaping gases of an internal combustion engine.
Noise or noise disturbance means any sound which annoys or disturbs humans, or which causes or tend to cause adverse psychological or physiological effect on humans, which annoys or disturbs or is offensive to a person of normal sensitivities, or which endangers or injures the safety or health of humans, animals, personal or real property.
Noise sensitive zone means any area where an educational institution, governmental facility, religious institution, residence or residential area is located; an area of potential noise disturbance.
Person means any individual, association, partnership, or corporation, and includes any officer, employee, department, agency, or instrumentality of the state or any political subdivision thereof.
Public space means any publicly or privately owned properties that are available to the public in general.
Residence or residential area
means any area used for living purposes, such as one and two family homes,
apartments, condominiums, and hotels or motels and any area designated as an
A, SFR or MFR AG, AP, R-1, or MHP zoning district, pursuant to
the zoning code or any plan or district map promulgated thereunder.
Surface mining means the removal or extraction of natural mineral deposits, soils and organic soils by open pit mining methods.
SECTION 5. PROHIBITED ACTS
No person shall make, continue to cause or permit to be made, verbally or mechanically, any noise disturbance.
The following specific acts, and the causing thereof, are declared to be in violation of this Ordinance:
Loud Speakers, Amplifiers and Sound Producing Equipment The playing, using, operating or permitting the playing, using or operating of any loud speaker, amplifier, radio, stereo, television, musical instrument or other machine or device used for the production or reproduction of sound in such a manner as to create a noise disturbance which is audible in a noise sensitive zone. The playing, using or operating of any loud speaker, amplifier, radio, stereo, television, musical instrument or other machine or device between 11:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m. of the following day in such a manner as to be audible at a distance of fifty (50) feet from the building, structure, vehicle or other place in which it is located shall be prima-facie evidence of a violation of this section.
Loading and Unloading Loading, unloading, opening, closing or other handling of boxes, crates, containers, building material or similar objects between 10:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m. of the following day in such a manner as to create a noise disturbance which is audible within a noise sensitive zone.
Motor Vehicle Repairs and Testing Repairing, rebuilding, modifying or testing any motor vehicle, motorcycle or motor boat in such a manner to create a noise disturbance which is audible within a noise sensitive zone.
Construction Operating or permitting the operation of any tools or equipment used in construction or demolition work between 9:00p.m. and 7:00 a.m. of the following day Monday through Saturday or at any time on Sundays and holidays, such that the sound therefrom creates a noise disturbance which is audible within a noise sensitive zone, except in cases of emergency or emergency work. In such case, a permit shall be obtained from the building inspector or ordinance enforcement officer of the Township, which permit shall limit the periods that the activity may continue.
Exhausts Discharge into the open air of exhaust of any internal combustion engine, except through a muffler. The provisions of this section shall not apply to motor vehicles operated on a highway or public street and subject to the noise regulations of the State Motor Vehicle Code or comparable provisions of the Uniform Traffic Code, and in such case, violations shall be enforced under the procedures set forth therein.
Animals Keeping of any animal which causes loud or frequent barking or causing frequent or long continued noise thereby creating a noise disturbance in any noise sensitive zone.
Surface Mining Operating or permitting the operation of any tools or equipment used in surface mining work between 9:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m. Monday through Saturday or any time on Sundays and holidays, such that the sound therefrom creates a noise disturbance within a noise sensitive zone.
Motor Vehicles The operation of any automobile, motorcycle or other vehicle so out of repair or loaded or constructed as to cause loud and unnecessary grating, grinding, rattling or other unreasonable noise including the noise resulting from exhaust, which is clearly audible from nearby properties and unreasonably disturbing to the quiet, comfort or repose of other persons. The modification of any noise abatement device on any motor vehicle or engine is increased above that emitted by such vehicle as originally manufactured shall be in violation of this section.
SECTION 6. EXCEPTIONS
None of the terms or prohibitions of the previous sections shall apply to or be enforced against:
SECTION 7. ENFORCEMENT
The supervisor of Watertown Charter Township shall be the enforcing officer empowered to investigate alleged violations of this Ordinance and to enforce the provisions of this Ordinance. The supervisor is empowered to provide a verbal or written warning on the first instance of a violation of this Ordinance, if, in his or her judgment an initial warning would cause the violation to cease and would serve the purpose of this Ordinance. The supervisor is empowered to delegate his Ordinance enforcing authority under this Ordinance to a designated employee of the Township.
SECTION 8. VIOLATION – A MISDEMEANOR
A person violating any of the provisions of this ordinance shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and upon conviction thereof shall be fined in an amount not exceeding $500.00 or be imprisoned in the County Jail for a period not exceeding ninety (90) days or both. Each day such violation is committed or permitted to continue shall constitute a separate offense and shall be punishable as such.
SECTION 9. SAVINGS CLAUSE
This Ordinance and its various parts, sections, and clauses are hereby declared to be severable. If any part, word, sentence, paragraph, section or clause is adjudged unconstitutional or invalid by a court of competent jurisdiction, it is hereby provided that the remainder of this Ordinance shall not be affected thereby.
SECTION 10. EFFECTIVE DATE
This Ordinance shall become effective thirty (30) days after final publication.
CERTIFICATION
The foregoing Township Noise Ordinance was duly adopted and passed by the Township Board of the Charter Township of Watertown, Clinton County, Michigan on the 20th day of July, 1992, by the following vote:
YES: McNeil, Gorman, McKeon, Mallison, Miller
NO: Rathbun
ABSENT Porterfield
__________________________________ ______________________________
Edward F. McKeon, Supervisor Phyllis J. Rathbun, Clerk