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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCity Council Ordinance 1998-40CITY OF PLYMOUTH HENNEPIN COUNTY, MINNESOTA ORDINANCE NO. 98-40 AN ORDINANCE AMENDING CHAPTER 20 OF THE PLYMOUTH CITY CODE RELATING TO NOISE, PROVIDING FOR THE ELIMINATION AND PREVENTION OF PROHIBITED NOISE, AND IMPOSING PENALTIES FOR VIOLATION SECTION 1. The City of Plymouth City Code is amended by adding a new Section 2025 to read as follows: 2025.01. DEFINITIONS. Subd. 1. General. Words and phrases defined in this section have, when used in this ordinance, the meanings given below. Any other word or phrase used in this ordinance, and defined in regulations of the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency Noise Pollution Control Rules Chapter 7030, has the meaning given in those regulations. Subd. 2. Air Circulation Device. Means a mechanism designed and used for the controlled flow of air used in ventilation, cooling, or conditioning, but not limited to, central and window air conditioning units. Subd. 3. L10. Means the sound level, expressed in decibels (dBA) which is exceeded 10 percent of the time for a one-hour period, as measured by a sound level meter having characteristics as specified in the latest standards, S1.4, of the American National Standards Institute and using test procedures approved by the police department. Subd. 4. L50. Means the sound level, expressed in decibels (dBA) which is exceeded 50 percent of the time for a one-hour period, as measured by a sound level meter having characteristics as specified in the latest standards, S1.4, of the American National Standards Institute and using test procedures approved by the police department. Ord. 98-40 Page 2 Subd. 5. Person. Means an individual, firm, partnership, corporation, trustee, association, the state and its agencies and subdivisions, or any body of persons whether incorporated or not. With respect to acts prohibited or required herein, "person" shall include employees and licensees. 2025.03. NOISES PROHIBITED. Subd. 1. General Prohibition. No person shall make or cause to be made any distinctly and loudly audible noise that unreasonably annoys, disturbs, injures, or endangers the comfort, repose, health, peace, safety, or welfare of any persons or precludes their enjoyment of property or affects their property's value. This general prohibition is not limited by the specific restrictions of the following subdivisions. Subd. 2. Horns, Audible Signaling Devices, etc.. No person shall sound any signaling devise on any vehicle except as a warning of danger, as required by Minn. Stat. §169.68. Subd. 3. Exhaust. No person shall discharge the exhaust, or permit the discharge of the exhaust of any steam engine, stationary internal combustion engine, motor boat, motor vehicle, recreational vehicle or snowmobile except through a muffler or other device that effectively prevents loud or explosive noises therefrom and complies with all applicable state laws and regulations. Subd. 4. Defective Vehicles or Loads. No person shall use any vehicle so out of repair or so loaded as to create loud and unnecessary grating, grinding, rattling, or other noise. Subd. 5. Loading, Unloading, Unpacking. No person shall create loud and excessive noise in loading, unloading, or unpacking any vehicle. Subd. 6. Radios, Tape Player, Compact Disc Player, Paging System, etc.. a. General Prohibition. No person shall use or operate or permit the use or operation of any radio receiving set, musical instrument, tape player, compact disc player, paging system, machine, or other devise for the production or reproduction of sound in a distinctly and loudly audible manner as to unreasonably disturb the peace, quiet, comfort, safety or welfare of any persons or -2- Ord. 98-40 Page 3 precludes their enjoyment of property or affects their property value. b. Nighttime Prohibition. Operation of any such set, instrument, tape player, compact disc player, machine, or other device between the hours of 10:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m. in such a manner as to be plainly audible at the property line of the structure or building in which it is located, in the hallway or apartment adjacent, or at a distance of 50 feet if the source is located outside a structure or building shall be prima facie evidence of a violation of this section. Subd. 7. Participation in Noisy Parties or Gatherings. No person shall participate in any party or other gathering of people giving rise to noise, unreasonably disturbing the peace, quiet, or repose of another person. When a police officer determines that a gathering is creating such a noise disturbance, the officer may order all persons present, other than the owner or tenant of the premises where the disturbance is occurring, to disperse immediately. No person shall refuse to leave after being ordered by a police officer to do so. Every owner or tenant of such premises who has knowledge of the disturbance shall make every reasonable effort to see that the disturbance is stopped. Subd. 8. Loudspeakers, Amplifiers for Advertising, etc.. No person shall operate or permit the use or operation of any loudspeaker, sound amplifier, or other device for the production or reproduction of sound on a street or other public place for the purpose of commercial advertising or attracting the attention of the public to any commercial establishment or vehicle. Subd. 9. Animals. No person shall keep any animal that unreasonably disturbs the comfort or repose of any person by its frequent or continued noise. For purposes of this subdivision, "disturbs the comfort or repose of any person by its frequent or continued noise" means any one of the following: a. The animal noise occurs at a time between 10:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m. and can be heard from a location outside the building and premises where the animal is being kept, and the animal has made such noises intermittently for more than three (3) minutes; or -3- Ord. 98-40 Page 4 b. The animal noise can be heard five hundred (500) feet from the location of the building and premises where the animal is being kept, and the animal has made such noises intermittently for more than three (3) minutes; or C. The animal noise can be heard from a location outside the building and premises where the animal is being kept, and the animal has made such noises intermittently for a period of at least five (5) minutes. Subd. 10. Schools, Churches, Hospitals, etc.. No person shall create any excessive noise on a street, alley, or public grounds adjacent to any school, institution of learning, church, hospital or home for the elderly when the noise unreasonably interferes with the working of the institution or disturbs or unduly annoys its occupants or residents and when conspicuous signs indicate the presence of such institution. 2025.05. HOURLY RESTRICTION ON CERTAIN OPERATIONS. Subd. 1. Recreational Vehicles and Snowmobiles. No person shall, between the hours of 10:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m., drive or operate any snowmobile or other recreational vehicle not licensed for travel on public highways. Subd. 2. Domestic Power Equipment. No person shall operate a power lawn mower, power hedge clipper, chain saw, mulcher, garden tiller, edger, leaf blower/vacuum, drill or other similar domestic power maintenance equipment except between the hours of 7:00 a.m. and 10:00 p.m. Snow removal motor vehicles or equipment are. exempt from this provision. Subd. 3. Refuse Hauling and Recycling Collection. No person shall collect or remove garbage or refuse or collect designated recyclables in any residential district except between the hours of 7:00 a.m. and 10:00 p.m. Subd. 4. Construction, Maintenance and Repair Activities. No person shall engage in or permit construction, maintenance and repair activities involving the use of any kind of electric, diesel or gas - powered motor vehicle or machine or other power equipment except between the hours of 7:00 a.m. and 10:00 p.m. Excavation/grading operations are exempt from this subdivision but must comply with City Code § 21185. Snow removal operations are exempt from this subdivision. -4- Ord. 98-40 Page 5 2025.07. RECEIVING LAND USE STANDARDS. Subd. 1. Maximum Noise Levels by Receiving Land Use Districts. No person shall operate or cause or permit to be operated any source of noise in such a manner as to create a noise level exceeding the limit set in Table I for the receiving land use category specified when measured at a point of normal human activity of the receiving land use. TABLE I. SOUND LEVELS BY RECEIVING LAND USE DISTRICTS Land Use Districts Day 7:00 a.m. - 10:00 p.m. Night 10:00 p.m. - 7:00 a.m. L10 L50 L10 L50 Residential 65 60 55 50 Commercial 70 65 70 65 Industrial 80 75 80 75 Subd. 2. Exemptions. The levels prescribed in Subdivision 1 do not apply to noise originating on public streets and alleys but such noise shall be subject to other applicable sections of this ordinance. 2025.09. AIR CIRCULATION DEVICES. No person shall permanently install or place any air circulation device, except a window air conditioning unit, in any outdoor location until the Department of Community Development determines that the device in that location will comply with the noise level standards prescribed in Section 2025.07 and issues a permit for the installation. The noise produced by any window unit and by any existing air circulation device shall be attenuated by means deemed appropriate by the Department of Community Development, including, but not limited to, relocation of such device, if the noise results in or contributes to a violation of Section 2025.07. 2025.11. EXEMPTION FOR EMERGENCY WORK. Noise created exclusively in the performance of emergency work to preserve the public health, safety, or welfare necessary to restore a public service or eliminate a public hazard shall be exempt from the provisions of this ordinance for a period not to exceed 24 hours after the work is commenced. The Department of Public Safety may grant an extension of the 24 hour exemption as it deems appropriate. Persons responsible for such work shall inform the Department of Public Safety of the need to initiate such work or, if the work is commenced during nonbusiness hours of the City, at the beginning of the first -5- Ord. 98-40 Page 6 business day thereafter. Any person responsible for such emergency work shall take all reasonable actions to minimize the amount of noise. 2025.13. POWERS AND DUTIES OF THE DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY. Subd. 1. Administering Officer. The noise control program established by this ordinance shall be administered by the Department of Public Safety. Subd. 2. Testing Procedures. The Department of Public Safety shall adopt guidelines establishing the test procedures and instrumentation to be used in enforcing the provisions of Section 2025.07 imposing noise standards. A copy of such guidelines shall be kept on file in the office of the Department of Public Safety and shall be available to the public for reference during office hours. Subd. 3. Sound Source Control Plan. The Department of Public Safety may, at the request of the Department of Community Development, review a sound source control plan. If requested, the Department of Public Safety shall evaluate the plan and make appropriate recommendations to the City Council or the Department of Community Development. Any violation of an approved sound source control plan is a violation of this Ordinance. Subd. 4. Other Powers and Duties. The Department of Public Safety shall exercise such other powers and perform such other duties as are reasonable and necessary to enforce this ordinance. 2025.15. VARIANCES. . Subd. 1. Authority. The Zoning Administrator shall have authority, consistent with this section, to grant exceptions from the requirements of Section 2025.05 and Section 2025.07. Subd. 2. Application. It is recognized that under certain circumstances it would be impossible for a noise source to comply with the provisions of Section 2025.05 or Section 2025.07 of this Section due to economic or technological reasons. In cases such as this, application for an exception may be made in writing to the Department of Community Development. The application shall contain the following pertinent information: a. Legal description of property; I on Ord. 98-40 Page 7 b. Dates of exception requested; C. Location of particular noise source and times of operation; d. Equipment involved; e. Necessity for request of exception; f. Steps taken to minimize noise level from source; g. Names of responsible persons; and h. List of property owners within two hundred (200) feet of the subject property in a format prescribed by the Zoning Administrator (only if exception is for more than 3 days). If the exception is for more than 3 days, the Department of Community Development shall give notice of the request as provided herein. Notice of the request for an exception shall consist of a legal property description, description of request for exception and map detailing property location, and be published in the official newspaper at least twenty (20) days prior to a decision on the request, and written notice shall be mailed at least twenty (20) days prior to a decision on the request to all owners of land within two hundred (200) feet of the boundary of the property in question. Applications will be reviewed by the Zoning Administrator and a decision to approve or deny the exception will be made in writing to the responsible persons within 30 days of receipt. Any person choosing to comment on the exception may do so in writing within 20 days of mailing of the notice. Subd. 3. Action on Application. The exception may be approved only if the Zoning Administrator finds that full compliance with the requirements of the ordinance would constitute an unreasonable hardship on the applicant, on other persons, or on the community. In determining whether to grant or deny the application, the Zoning Administrator shall balance the hardship to the applicant against the adverse impact on the health, safety, and welfare of the persons affected, the adverse impact on property affected, and any other adverse effects of granting the exception. The exception may be granted subject to conditions, including a time limit, which shall be clearly stated. -7- Ord. 98-40 Page 8 Subd. 4. Appeals. The decision made by the Zoning Administrator concerning the exception request may be appealed to the City Council within ten days after receiving the Zoning Administrator's written decision. The appeal shall be filed in writing with the City Clerk who shall schedule a hearing before the City Council as soon as possible. The person appealing the decision shall file a written report with the request for appeal. The report shall contain pertinent information which would adequately justify the request for an exception. 2025.17. ENFORCEMENT. Subd. 1. Notice of Certain Violations. When the Department of Public Safety determines that a noise exceeds the maximum sound level permitted under Section 2025.07, written notice of the violation shall be given to the owner or occupant of the premises where the noise originates and such person shall be ordered to correct or remove each specified violation within such reasonable time as is prescribed in the notice. The failure to remove or correct any such violation within the time so prescribed constitutes a violation of this ordinance. Subd. 2. Civil Remedies. This ordinance may be enforced by injunction, action for abatement, or other appropriate civil remedy. Subd. 3. Criminal Penalties. Any violation of this ordinance involving the operation of a motor vehicle, other than a violation of Section 2025.03, Subd. 6, which occurs in a motor vehicle, is a petty misdemeanor and, upon conviction, the violator shall be punished by a fine not to exceed $200.00. Every person who violates any other provision of this ordinance is guilty of a misdemeanor and shall, upon conviction, be subject to a fine of not more than $700.00 or imprisonment for a term not more than 90 days, or both. In all cases the city shall be entitled to collect the costs of prosecution to the full extent permitted by law. Each act of violation and each day a violation occurs or continues constitutes a separate offense. 2025.19 SEVERABILITY. If any provision of this ordinance or the application of any provision to a particular situation is held to be invalid by a court of competent jurisdiction, the remaining portions of the ordinance and the application of the ordinance to any other situation shall not be invalidated. -8- Ord. 98-40 Page 9 SECTION 2. The Plymouth City Code is amended by repealing §2005.01, subdivision 1, Making Unnecessary Noise, subdivision 2, Noise in Residential Areas, and subdivision 4, Noise Between 10:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m., in their entirety. SECTION 3. The Plymouth City Code is amended by repealing §915.13, subdivision 1 in its entirety. 915.13 Public Nuisances, Abatement of Nuisance, Notice of Violation. C..l�rli�rioi�r. 1 Gaaaa.-21 D„lo No .ten. -so shall o.:rrm keop bar -bo -r- Q.- allow tempt SECTION 4. The Plymouth City Code is amended by renumbering §915.13, subdivisions 2 and 3 as subdivisions 1 and 2, respectively. W Ord. 98-40 Page 10 Subd.41. Clean-up. No Owner shall permit his or her Animal to damage or foul any lawn, garden or other property. An Owner shall have the responsibility of cleaning up any feces of the Animal and to dispose of such feces in a sanitary manner. Subd.42. Notice. Upon the receipt of a written complaint of a violation of Subdivision 1 of this Subsection by two or more persons residing in the vicinity of such an animal, or upon request of a law enforcement officer or animal control officer, the Director of Public Safety shall notify the Owner to abate the nuisance within 48 hours. Failure to obey such notice shall be a violation of this Section. For the purposes of this Section, members of the same family unit residing in the same dwelling shall be regarded as one person. SECTION 5. The Plymouth City Code is amended by repealing §1325.03, subdivision 5 in its entirety. 1325.01. State Laws and Regulations Adopted by Reference. Subdivision 1. Snowmobile Law. Minnesota Statutes, Sections 84.81, 84.82, 84.87, 84.871, 84.872, 84.88, 84.89, 84.90, and 100.29, Subdivision 29, as amended, are adopted by reference and are as much a part of this Code as if fully set forth herein. SECTION 6. The Plymouth City Code is amended by renumbering §1325.01, subdivisions 6, 7 and 8 as subdivisions 5, 6 and 7, respectively. Subd.-65. Dead -Man Throttle. It is unlawful to operate a snowmobile without a safety or so-called "dead -man" throttle in operating condition, so that when pressure is removed from the accelerator or throttle, the motor is disengaged from the driving track. Subd.-76. Leaving Snowmobiles Unattended. Every person leaving a snowmobile in a public place shall lock the ignition, remove the key and take the same with him or her. Subd.-97. Hours of Operation. Snowmobiles can only be operated within the City of Plymouth between the hours of 7:00 a.m. and 10:00 p.m. SECTION 7. The Plymouth City Code is amended by repealing §1330.03, subdivision 1(h) in its entirety. 1330.03. Use of Recreational Motor Vehicles. Subdivision 1. Rules. It is unlawful for any person to operate or knowingly permit the operation of a Recreational Vehicle: -10- Ord. 98-40 Page 11 SECTION 8. The Plymouth City Code is amended by renumbering §1330.03, subdivision 1(i) and 0) as subdivision 1(h) and (i), respectively. (�h) In any cemetery. qD In any planting or tree nursery in a manner which damages or destroys growing stock. SECTION 9. Section 21105.10 of the Plymouth City Code is amended to read: 21105.10. NOISE: Noises emanating from any use shall be in compliance with and regulated by the State of Minnesota Pollution Control Standards, Minnesota Regulations NCP 7010. In no case shall noise violate Section 29942025 of the City Code. SECTION 10. This ordinance shall be effective immediately upon its passage. ADOPTED by the City Council this _/ day of WoVerviber, 1998. ATTEST: aurAs, City ClerkLF. -11- jljeLly4nilerney, Mayo