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HomeMy WebLinkAboutO-09-12ORDINANCE NO. 0-09-12 AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF SEBASTIAN, INDIAN RIVER COUNTY, FLORIDA, REPEALING SECTION 66-3 (4) AND ENACTING CHAPTER 67 OF THE CODE OF ORDINANCES OF THE CITY OF SEBASTIAN, FLORIDA, RELATING TO UNNECESSARY AND EXCESSIVE NOISE; PROVIDING ENFORCEMENT PROCEDURES AND EXEMPTIONS; REPEALING CONFLICTING PROVISIONS; PROVIDING FOR SEVERABILITY AND AN EFFECTIVE DATE. WHEREAS, The Sebastian City Council desires to make it unlawful for any person to make, continue, or cause to be made or continued any excessive, unnecessary, or unreasonably loud noise which disturbs the peace or quiet of any neighborhood or which causes discomfort or annoyance to any reasonable person of normal sensitivity NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SEBASTIAN, INDIAN RIVER COUNTY, FLORIDA, as follows: Section 1. That section 66 -3 (4) Code of Ordinances, City of Sebastian, Florida, is hereby repealed as follows: Chapter 66 NUISANCES Sec. 66 -3. Illustrative enumeration (4) Reserved Section 2. That Chapter 67 of the Code of Ordinances, City of Sebastian, Florida, is hereby enacted to read as follows: Chapter 67 NOISE Sec. 67 -1 Noises; unnecessary and excessive prohibited. Amended It shall be unlawful for any person to make, continue, or cause to be made or continued any unreasonably loud, excessive, unnecessary or unusual noise. A noise level which exceeds the ambient sound level by five (5) decibels or more, when measured at the nearest property line or, in the case of multifamily residential buildings, when measured anywhere in one dwelling unit or from common space in the same building, shall be deemed an unnecessary, excessive or offensive noise. A violation of this chapter may occur without the occasion of a decibel measurement being made if circumstances are such that a violation would be obvious to an ordinary, reasonable, prudent person. The following acts, among others, are declared to be unreasonably loud, excessive, unnecessary or unusual noises in violation of this Chapter but this enumeration shall not be deemed to be exclusive, namely: (1) Power tools and Landscaping Equipment. The operation of noise producinq lawn mowers, lawn edgers, weed trimmers, blowers, chippers, chain saws, power tools and other noise producinq tools which are used at a residence out -of -doors between 9:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m. (2) Animals, birds, etc. The owning, harboring, possessing or keeping of any doq, animal or bird which causes frequent, habitual or continued noise and which disturbs the peace, quiet and comfort of neighboring residents. (3) Radios, televisions, CD players, musical instruments, speakers, loudspeakers, amplifiers, and similar devices in residential areas. The using, operating, or permittinq to be played, used or operated any radio, television, CD player, musical instrument, or other machine or device for the producing, reproducing or amplifying sound in such manner as to disturb the peace, quiet and comfort of neighboring residents. The operation of anv such set, instrument, machine or device between the hours of 11:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m. in such manner as to be plainly audible at a distance of one hundred (100) feet from the buildinq, structure or vehicle in which it is located shall be prima facie evidence of a violation of this section. Sec. 67 -2 Responsibility for Compliance. For the purposes of this article, any person owning or havinq responsibility for management of a premises, however temporarily, or any performer or disc jockey producing sound upon any premises, any person playing music, any person having control of volume knobs or levels or amplification devices, and the business as named on the occupational license, if applicable, shall be jointly and severally liable for compliance with this article and shall be responsible for any violations of this article. Sec. 67 -3 Enforcement Procedure, Warnings Citations (1) Warnings. A first violation of this Chapter shall result in a warning, either oral or written, that details the violation with specificity and requires prompt corrective action be taken by any person(s) responsible for compliance as defined in Section 67 -2. (2) Citations. If corrective action is not taken within five (5) minutes of the warning, or if a warning for the same offense has been issued within the past sixty (60) days, an enforcement officer is authorized to issue a citation for each subsequent violation in accordance with the following schedule: The first citation shall carry a fine of $50.00 The second citation shall carry a fine of $250.00 The third and each subsequent citation shall carry a fine of $500.00. Sec. 67-4. Exemption. The following uses and activities shall be exempt from the noise regulations set forth in this chapter. (1) Noises of authorized safety signals and warning devices. (2) Noises emanating from any government vehicle or Property. (3) Noises emanating from non residential uses. (4) Noises from emergency work, which is to be construed as 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, including without limitation noises from generators or other equipment used by communications companies or other utility companies due to a commercial power outage or in connection with restoration of service operations. (5) Any activity authorized by the city council or city manager. Section 3. CONFLICT. All ordinances or parts of ordinances in conflict herewith are hereby repealed. Section 4. SEVERABILITY. In the event a court of competent jurisdiction shall determine that any part of this Ordinance is invalid, the remainder of the Ordinance shall not be affected and it shall be presumed that the City Council of the City of Sebastian did not intend to enact such invalid provision. It shall further be assumed that the City Council would have enacted the remainder of this Ordinance without said invalid provision, thereby causing said remainder to remain in full force and effect. Section 5. EFFECTIVE DATE. This Ordinance shall take effect upon its adoption by the City Council. The foregoing Ordinance was moved for adoption by Councilmember Coy The motion was seconded by Councilmember Hill and, upon being put to a vote, the vote was as follows: Mayor Richard H. Gillmor aye Vice -Mayor Jim Hill aye Councilmember Dale I. Simchick aye Councilmember Andrea B. Coy aye Councilmember Eugene Wolff aye The Mayor thereupon declared this Ordinance duly passed and adopted this 23rd day of Ate, 2009. September t CITY OF SEBA TIAN, FLORIDA Mayor Richard Gillmor Sally A. M. io MMC City Cle Approved as to Form and Legality for Reliance by the City of Sebastian only. Robert A. Ginsburg, City Arney Words stricken shall be deleted; words underlined constitute the proposed amendment; remaining provisions continue in effect.