Fort Walton Beach Ordinance — 2073--Noise Ordinance — reading text

READING () AT!• 1st 2nd Er* ORDINANCE 2073 AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF FORT WALTON BEACH, FLORIDA; PROVIDING FOR AUTHORITY; AMENDING SECTION 8. 09. 03 OF THE CODE OF ORDINANCES, ENTITLED NOISE, AND SECTION 9. 06 OF THE CODE OF ORDINANCES, ENTITLED LOUD AND UNUSUAL NOISES PROHIBITED; PROVIDING FOR SEVERABILITY; AND PROVIDING AN EFFECTIVE DATE WHEREAS, the Legislature of the State of Florida has, in Chapter 166, Florida Statutes, conferred upon local governments the authority to adopt regulations designed to promote the public health, safety, and general welfare of its citizenry; and WHEREAS, on April 20, 2021, City Council held a workshop to discuss revisions to the City' s noise ordinance; and WHEREAS, the City Council has determined that it is in the public interest to amend Chapters 8 and 9 of the Code of Ordinances, subsections 8. 09. 03 Noise and 9. 06 Loud and Unusual Noises Prohibited to provide clearly defined noise limits and enforcement procedures. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF FORT WALTON BEACH, FLORIDA, AS FOLLOWS: Section 1. Authority and Intent The authority for enactment of this ordinance is pursuant to the powers vested in the City by Home Rule Authority of Section 166.021( 1) of the Florida Statutes, the provisions of Chapter 162 of the Florida Statutes, and the City Charter. Section 2. Amendment of Code of Ordinances Section 8. 09. 03— Noise 8. 09. 03 — NOISE. NoiseDisturbance 7 e . els Days/ Hours Sound Level ( DBA) Monday-through— Thursday I 7: 00 a. m. to 11: 59 p.m. 1 89 12: 00 a. m. to 7: 00 a. m. 7.0 Friday hrough ay 7: 00 a. m. to 1: 59 p. m. 89 2: 00 a. m. to 7: 00 a. m. 174/ e:  Noise limits for the Downtown Business and Entertainment District are identified in Code of Ordinances Section 9. 06. 06. Section 3. Amendment of Code of Ordinances Section 9. 06 - Loud and Unusual Noises Prohibited. 9. 06 - LOUD AND UNUSUAL NOISES PROHIBITED 9. 06. 01Prohibitio-- boisterous laughing, singing or screaming; or by using any other device or means whatever to disturb the peace. I . 8. i .. I_ II . 1. Horns and other signaling devices.. The sounding of any horn or other signaling or disturbing noises, provided that where such steam engine, stationary or supporting ground equipment for aircraft. er television set, musical instrument, phonograph- lepealand amplifier, bell, drum, horn or other machine or device for the production or 1. Radios, television sets, phonographs, etc. The playing of any radio or television receiving set, musical instrument, phonograph or other machine or device for and comfort of the neighboring inhabitants. 5. Yelling, shouting, etc. Yelling, shouting, hooting, whistling, or singing on the or disturb the quiet, comfort public streets, or at any other place, so as to annoy  residence, or of any person in the vicinity. 6. Domestic pets. The keeping of any domestic bird or animal which emits 7. Tools. The use in a residential zone or in the vicinity of a hotel or motel of hand S. Hawkers, peddlers and vendors. The shouting and crying of peddlers, hawkers or vendors on any public street or place or on private property so closely adjacent thereto that crowds may be collected and traffic obstructed thereon, code, as amended. 9. Sirens. The sounding of sirens on escort services, except where specifically required or permitted by law and not for the purpose of calling attention to a vehicle or caravan, and the sounding of a siren on an ambulance, except when operated in response to an emergency call and when reasonably necessary to I I i . None of the preceding provisions shall apply to emergency situations where life, health development work carried on in areas zoned for industrial purposes, nor to those normal amended 9. 06. 01 Title. This chapter shall be known and cited as the " City of Fort Walton Beach Noise Control Ordinance." 9. 06. 02 Legislative Intent. The intent of this chapter is to supersede the present Noise Control Law of the City of Fort Walton Beach at Chapter 9. 06, as well as Section 8. 09. 03 Noise applicable in the Downtown Business and Entertainment District, by the enactment of the following provisions, definitions and standards for noise control in the City of Fort Walton Beach. 9. 06. 03 Findings and Declarations. It is hereby found and declared that: The purpose of this chapter is to establish specific permissible noise limits in order to provide for the abatement, prevention and prohibition of excessive and unnecessary noise so as to protect the health, safety, and general welfare of the residents of Fort Walton Beach, while allowing economic activity. Excessive and unnecessary noise can cause adverse psychological and physiological effects on humans and deprive people of the peaceable enjoyment of their private property. This chapter provides clear guidance to both enforcement agencies and regulated noise sources, with ease and certainty of compliance being the primary goal. 9. 06. 04 Definitions. As used in this chapter, the following terms shall have the meanings as indicated: AFFECTED PERSON Any person who has lodged a Noise complaint with an authorized enforcement agency that they are the receptor of Noise on property within the City, and said person has an interest in the property as an owner, tenant, or employee. AMBIENT SOUND The sound level at a given location that exists as a result of the combined contribution in that location of all sound sources, excluding the contribution of the source or sources under investigation for potential violation of this chapter and excluding the contribution of extraneous sound sources. Ambient sounds are differentiated from extraneous sounds by the fact that ambient sounds are being emitted the majority of the time although they may not be continuous. Examples of ambient sounds may include steady traffic of properly muffled vehicles, summer insects in the distance, pedestrians talking, and adjacent commercial/ industrial operations or mechanical equipment. COMMERCIAL USES Includes commercial, mixed business and manufacturing, and mixed- use zoning districts as defined in the City of Fort Walton Beach Land Development Code. For the purposes of establishing permissible daytime sound level limits within this chapter, this designation shall include the following zoning districts ( per City of Fort Walton Beach Zoning Map): [ CG, MB, MX- 1, & MX-2]. CONSTRUCTION Any site preparation, assembly, erection, repair, alteration or similar action, but excluding demolition of buildings or structures. CONTINUOUS SOUND Sound with a duration of one second or longer measured by the slow response of a sound level meter. Impulsive sounds that are rapidly repetitive and occur over a period of time with a duration of one second or longer shall be measured as continuous sound. CORRECTED SOURCE SOUND LEVEL The sound level attributable to the source or sources under investigation for potential violation of this chapter, which is calculated by subtracting the measured ambient  sound level from the measured total sound level. DAYTIME HOURS The hours between 7: 00 a. m. and 10: 00 p.m. dBA The sound level as measured using the " A" weighting network with a sound level set forth in ANSI S1. 4 or IEC 61672. The unit of meter meeting the standards reporting is dB( A). The " A" weighting network discriminates against the lower frequencies according to a relationship approximating the auditory sensitivity of the human ear. dBC The sound level as measured weighting network with a sound level using the " C" meter meeting the standards set forth in ANSI S1. 4 or IEC 61672. The unit of reporting is dB( C). The " C" weighting network is more sensitive to low frequencies than is the " A" weighting network. DECIBEL The practical unit of measurement for sound pressure level. The number of decibels of a measured sound is equal to 20 times the logarithm to the base of 10 of the ratio of the sound pressure of the measured sound to the sound pressure of a standard sound ( 20 micropascals); abbreviated as " dB." DOWNTOWN BUSINESS AND ENTERTAINMENT DISTRICT The District whose purpose and boundaries are defined at Section 8. 09. 01, Code of Ordinances. DEMOLITION Any dismantling, intentional destruction or removal of buildings or structures. EMERGENCY WORK Any work or action necessary to deliver essential services, at the site of an emergency, including but not limited to repairing water, gas, electricity, telephone or sewer facilities or public transportation facilities, removing fallen trees on public rights-of- way or abating life-threatening conditions. EXTRANEOUS SOUND Any sound that is intense and intermittent and is neither ambient sound nor sound attributable to a source or sources under investigation for a potential violation of this chapter. Such sound includes but is not limited to sirens of emergency vehicles., unusually loud motor vehicle exhaust or braking, people shouting or talking next to the sound level meter, animal vocalizations, aircraft passing overhead, car door slams, etc. When conducting compliance measurements, such extraneous sound sources may be noted but their sound levels are excluded. INDUSTRIAL USES  All industrial land use areas as defined by City of Fort Walton Beach Land Development Code; this shall include land uses within the CTP zoning district. IMPULSE SOUND Any sound with a rapid onset and rapid decay with either a single pressure peak or a