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5-6-1 Unreasonable Noise.
(a)No person shall make unreasonable noise in a public place or near a
private residence that such person has no right to occupy.2
(b)No person shall electronically amplify any sound, or make any noise by
means of any electronic amplifier, which is loud enough to be audible to a
person of normal hearing one hundred or more feet beyond the property line of
the property upon which the loudspeakers are located during the hours of 11:00
p.m. through 7:00 a.m. This prohibition does not apply to authorized emergency
vehicles, to vehicle horns sounded as a danger warning signal, to sound made on
property belonging to or leased or managed by a federal, state, or county
governmental body other than the city and made by an activity of the
governmental body or by others pursuant to a contract, lease, or permit granted
by such governmental body, to audible alarm police alarm devices operated under
a permit pursuant to Chapter 4-16, “Police
Alarm System Permits,” B.R.C. 1981, or exempt from such permits, or to fire
alarms.
(c)No person shall make any trash pickup with a truck which has a compactor
or the capacity to raise and dump dumpsters in any area zoned for residential or
business uses between the hours of 11:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m., and no employer
shall fail to prevent its employee from violating this subsection while the
employee is driving a trash truck owned by or under the control of the employer.
For the purposes of this subsection, testimony that the name of a business which
holds itself out as being in the business of trash hauling was written on the
trash truck shall be prima facie evidence that the trash truck was
owned by or was under the control of the employer so identified.
(d)Trash haulers may apply to the city manager for a variance of the
provisions of subsection (c) above for business district locations. Possession
of a valid variance shall be a specific defense to any charge under subsection
(c) above if the act complained of was within the variance granted. The manager
may grant all or a part of any requested variance, and may place such conditions
upon any variance granted as are reasonably suited to limit the harmful effects
of the variance. Such variances shall be granted only if the applicant can
demonstrate to the manager's satisfaction:
(1)That the location in question is sufficiently removed from any
residential use that the noise of trash removal will not disturb anyone in
their residence, including without limitation hotel and motel accommodations;
or
(2)That the location cannot feasibly be serviced during permitted
hours, and that the variance is the least necessary to permit trash removal
while still assuring nearby residents reasonable nocturnal quiet.
2People v. Fitzgerald, 194 Colo. 415, 573 P.2d 100
(1978).
Ordinance No. 5660 (1994).
5-6-2 Excessive Sound Levels.
(a)No person shall:
(1)Operate any type of vehicle, machine, or device;
(2)Carry on any activity; or
(3)Promote or facilitate the carrying on of any activity, which
makes sound in excess of the level specified in this section.
(b)Sound from a moving vehicular source located within the public
right-of-way shall not exceed eighty decibels on the “A” weighting scale (dBA),
except that sound from a vehicle with a manufacturer's gross weight rating of
ten thousand pounds and above operated on a prescribed truck route at all times
or elsewhere within the city during the hours of 7:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. on
Monday through Saturday may exceed eighty dBA but shall not exceed eighty-eight
dBA. Such sound shall be measured at a distance of at least twenty-five feet
from a vehicle located within the public right-of-way.
(c)Sound from any source, other than a moving vehicular source located within
the public right-of-way, shall not exceed any of the following limits for its
appropriate zone:
(1)The zone limits prescribed by this section are set forth in the
following table:
|
Zoning Designation of the Property on Which the Sound is
Received |
Maximum Number of Decibels Permitted from 7:00 a.m. until 11:00 p.m. of
the Same Day |
Maximum Number of Decibels Permitted from 11:00 p.m. until 7:00 a.m. of
the Following Day |
|
(All zoning designations include suffixes) |
|
RR, RR1, ER, LR, MR, MXR, HR, MH, MU, HZ |
55 dBA |
50 dBA |
|
TB, RB, RB1, RB2, RB3, RMS, BMS, CB, A, P |
65 dBA |
60 dBA |
|
IG, IM, IS, IMS |
80 dBA |
75 dBA |
(2)Sound from construction work for which a building permit has
been issued shall be deemed to be received in an industrial zoning district
during the hours of 7:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. for work of any type, and until
9:00 p.m. for light construction work that uses only hand tools and power
tools (but not including nail guns) of no more than five horsepower. Under no
circumstances shall amplified sound be considered as construction work
activity.
(3)Sound from a source regulated by this subsection:
(A)Sound from a source on private property shall be measured at
or inside the property line of property other than that on which the sound
source is located; or
(B)Sound from a source on public property may be measured on
that property so long as the measurement is taken at least twenty-five feet
from the source, or it may be measured at or inside the property line of
property other than the public property on which the sound source is
located; and
(C)For the purposes of this paragraph, a leasehold shall be
deemed a property, and its boundary shall be deemed a property
line.
(d)All sound measurements shall be made on a sound level meter that meets
ANSI specification S1.4-1974 for Type I or Type II equipment. The manufacturer's
published indication of compliance with such specifications is prima
facie evidence of compliance with this subsection.
(e)It is a specific defense to a charge of violating this section that:
(1)The sound was made by an authorized emergency vehicle when
responding to an emergency call or acting in time of emergency;
(2)The sound was made within the terms of a parade, fireworks
display, or temporary street closure permit issued by the city
manager;
(3)The sound was made by animals;
(4)The sound was made by the sounding of the horn of any vehicle
as a danger warning signal or by the sounding of any warning device as
required by law;
(5)The sound was made on property belonging to or leased or
managed by a federal, state or county governmental body other than the city
and was made by an activity of the governmental body or by others pursuant to
a contract, lease, or permit granted by such governmental body; or
(6)The sound was made within the terms and conditions of a sound
level variance granted by the city manager or the manager's authorized
representative. A variance shall be granted after application is made if the
manager finds that compliance will cause an undue hardship and further finds
that:
(A)Additional time is necessary for the applicant to alter or
modify the activity or operation to comply with this section;
or
(B)The activity, operation or sound source will be of temporary
duration, and even with the application of the best available control
technology cannot be done in a manner that would comply with this section.
In either case, the manager must also find that no reasonable alternative is
available to the applicant. If the manager grants a variance, the manager
shall prescribe such reasonable conditions or requirements as are necessary
to minimize adverse effects upon the community or the surrounding
neighborhood.
(f)This section shall not be construed to conflict with the right of any
person to maintain an action in equity to abate a noise nuisance under the laws
of the state.
(g)Each offense of violation of this section constitutes a separate and
distinct violation.
Ordinance Nos. 4981 (1986); 5206 (1989); 5271 (1990); 5821 (1996); 5930
(1997).
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