§ 62-2271. Noise.

(a)

Terminology, standards and definitions.

(1)

Terminology and standards. All technical acoustical terminology and standards used in this article which are not defined in subsection (2) shall be read or construed in conformance with the American National Standards Institute, Inc., (ANSI) publication entitled "Acoustical Terminology, designated as ANSI S1.1-1960, or its successor publication.

(2)

Definitions. The following words, terms and phrases, when used in this article, shall have the meanings ascribed to them in this section, unless the context clearly indicates a different meaning:

a.

A-weighted sound pressure level shall mean the sound pressure level, in decibels, as measured on a sound level meter using the A-weighting network. The level so read shall be designated as dB (A-wt)

b.

Ambient noise level shall mean the sound pressure level of the all-encompassing noise emanating from a given environment, usually being a composite of sounds from many sources.

c.

ANSI shall mean the American National Standards Institute.

d.

Construction activities shall mean any and all activity incidental to the erection, demolition, assembling, altering, installation or equipping of buildings, structures, roads or appurtenances thereof, including land clearing, grading, excavating and filling.

e.

Decibel or dB shall mean a unit for describing the amplitude of sound, equal to 20 times the logarithm to the base 10 of the ratio of the pressure of the sound measured to the reference pressure, which is 20 micro-newtons per square meter.

f.

Emergency shall mean any occurrence or circumstance involving actual or imminent physical death or trauma, or property damage, demanding immediate emergency work or service.

g.

Emergency work or emergency service shall mean any labor performed for the purpose of preventing or alleviating, or attempting to prevent or alleviate, an emergency.

h.

Equivalent sound pressure level (Leq) shall mean a sound level descriptor based on the average acoustic intensity over time. Leq is intended as a single number indicator to describe the mean energy or intensity level over a specified period of time during which the sound level fluctuated, Leq is measured in dB and must be A-weighted.

i.

Impulsive sound shall mean a sound of short duration, usually less than one second and of high intensity, with an abrupt onset and rapid decay. Examples of sources of impulsive sound include pile drivers, drop forge impacts, the discharge of firearms, the barking of dogs, and the beating of drums.

j.

Motorboat shall mean any boat or vessel propelled or powered by machinery, regardless of whether such machinery is the principal source of propulsion, including boats, barges, amphibious craft, water ski towing devices and hovercraft.

k.

Motor vehicle shall mean any vehicle defined as motor vehicle by F.S. § 320.01(1)

l.

Multifamily residential dwelling shall mean a building designated or used exclusively for residential occupancy by two (2) or more families.

m.

Multifamily residential dwelling unit shall mean the portion of a multifamily residential dwelling designed or used exclusively for residential occupancy by only one family.

n.

Noise shall mean any sound produced in such quantity and for such duration that it annoys, disturbs or may injure a reasonable man or woman of normal sensitivities.

o.

Person shall mean an individual, association, partnership, or corporation, including any officer, employee, department, agency or instrumentality of the United States, the state or any political subdivision thereof.

p.

Plainly audible sound shall mean any sound for which the information content of that sound is communicated to the listener, including understandable spoken speech or comprehensible musical rhythms.

q.

Powered model vehicle shall mean any self-propelled airborne, waterborne, or landborne plane, vessel, or vehicle, which is not designed to carry persons, including any model airplane, boat, car, or rocket.

r.

Property line shall mean an imaginary line along the surface of land or water, and its vertical plane extension, which separates the real property owned, rented or leased by a person from the real property owned, rented or leased by another person. Where the real property owned, rented or leased by a person abuts a waterbed, the term "property line" shall mean the established normal high water elevation of the waterbed.

s.

Public right-of-way shall mean any street, avenue, boulevard, highway, sidewalk, alley, or similar place normally accessible to the public which is owned or controlled by the county.

t.

Pure tone shall mean any sound which can be distinctly heard as a single pitch or a set of single pitches. For the purposes of measurement, a pure tone shall exist if the one-third octave band sound pressure level in the band with the tone exceeds the arithmetic average of the sound pressure levels of the two contiguous one-third octave bands by five dB for center frequencies of five hundred (500) Hz and above and by eight dB for center frequencies between 160 and 400 Hz and by 15 dB for center frequencies less than or equal to 125 Hz.

u.

RMS sound pressure shall mean the square root of the time averaged square of the sound pressure.

v.

Sound shall mean an oscillation in pressure, stress, particle displacement, particle velocity or other physical parameter, in a medium with internal forces. The description of sound may include any characteristic of such sound, including duration, intensity, and frequency.

w.

Sound level shall mean the weighted sound pressure level obtained by the use of a metering characteristic and weighting A, B, or C as specified in American National Standards Institute specifications for sound level meters (ANSI S1.4-1971), or successor publications. If the weighting employed is not indicated, the A-weighting shall apply.

x.

Sound level meter shall mean in instrument which includes a microphone, amplifier, RMS detector, integrator or time averager, output meter, and weighting network used to measure sound pressure levels. The output meter reads sound pressure level when properly calibrated. The sound level meter shall be of type 2 or better as specified in the American National Standards Institute publication entitled "Specifications for Sound-Level Meters," designated as ANSI S1.4-1971.

y.

Sound pressure shall mean the instantaneous difference between the actual pressure and the average or barometric pressure at a given point in space, as produced by the presence of sound energy.

z.

Sound pressure level shall mean a 20 times the logarithm to the base ten of the ratio of the RMS sound pressure to the reference pressure of 20 micro-newtons per meter squared. The sound pressure level is denoted Lp (or SPL) and is expressed in decibels.

aa.

Use shall mean any activity, event, operation or facility which creates noise.

bb.

Water craft shall mean any machine in, upon or by which any person or property is or may be transported or drawn upon or over any watercourse or body of water, including swamp lands; this term shall include hovercraft and air boats.

(b)

Measurement of sound. Sound shall be measured with a sound level meter. Sound meters utilized for enforcement action shall have data logging capability and output to preserve a graphical record of measurements. Sound measurements shall be taken so as to secure and ensure an accurate representation of the sound. Sound level meters shall utilize an A-weighted filter, set to slow response, with a 3dBA doubling rate and no cut-offs. Measurements of sound in support or defense of an enforcement action shall be performed by individuals with documented training and/or experience in the collection and interpretation of sound level data.

(1)

The sound level shall be measured at a distance no closer to the point from which the sound in question in emanating than the property line of the parcel or lot from which the sound is emanating.

(2)

A measurement period shall be not less than 15 minutes in duration.

(3)

The sound being measured shall be representative of the sound which instigated the complaint.

(4)

A measurement should be taken at approximately five feet above the ground or water surface, away from any obstruction or reflecting surface.

(5)

A microphone windscreen shall be required to avoid wind noise biasing of a measurement.

(6)

All manufacturer's directions on the operation of the sound level meter shall be followed (e.g., proper microphone angle).

(7)

All sound level meters used for measurement shall be in conformance with ANSI section 1.4-1983.

(8)

All octave and third octave band filter sets of the sound level meter shall be in conformance with ANSI section 1.11-1976.

(9)

Calibration of all instruments, components, and attachments shall conform to the latest ANSI standards and manufacturer's directions and specifications.

(10)

Instrumentation for sound level measurements may be class 1 or class 2 (ANSI section 1.4-1971).

(c)

Maximum permissible sound levels; land use categories, times; and adjustment for character of sound.

(1)

Subject to subsections (2) and (3) below, at no time shall the predicted or actual sound pressure levels emitted by the proposed use exceed the sound pressure levels specified in the table below at the closest property line of the below specified uses. If a use is located within a strip center, the noise level will be monitored from the outside wall of the use.

Table 1

Maximum Permissible Time Averaged (Leq)

A-Weighted Sound Pressure Limits for Receiving Uses

Type of Use	Time Period	Maximum Allowable Sound Pressure Level
Residential	7:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m.	60 dB(A)
	10:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m.	55 dB(A)
Commercial	7:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m.	65 dB(A)
	10:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m.	55 dB(A)
Industrial	7:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m.	75 dB(A)
	10:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m.	65 dB(A)

 

(2)

For any source of sound that emits a continuous pure tone, the sound level limits set forth in Table 1 shall be reduced by five (5) dB (A-weighted).

(3)

Impulsive sound shall not exceed the maximum sound levels contained in Table 1 during the hours of 7:00 AM to 10:00 PM. Impulsive sound is not permitted during the hours of 10:00 PM to 7:00 AM.

(d)

Prohibited acts.

(1)

Subject to the provisions of this section, no person shall produce, cause to be produced, or allow to be produced, by any means, any sound within any private or public property, including a right-of-way, which sound, when measured pursuant to this section, exceed the applicable sound level limits set forth in this section.

(2)

Noises determined and enumerated as public nuisances under Part II Code of Ordinances Chapter 46, Article IV, Section 131.

(e)

Exemptions. The provisions of section 62-2271 shall not apply to the following sounds or vibrations.

(1)

Cries for emergency assistance and warning calls. Emergency signals during emergencies. Emergency testing between 7:00 AM and 7:00 PM.

(2)

Radios, sirens, horns and bells on police, fire and other emergency response vehicles. Law enforcement activities including training.

(3)

Parades, fireworks displays and other special events for which a permit has been obtained from the county, within such hours as may be imposed as a condition for the issuance of the permit.

(4)

Activities on or in county and school athletic facilities and on or in publicly owner property and facilities, provided that such activities have been authorized by the owner of such property or facilities or its agent.

(5)

Fire alarms and burglar alarms, prior to the giving of notice and a reasonable opportunity for the owner or tenant in possession of the premises served by any such alarm to turn off the alarm.

(6)

Religious worship activities, including but not limited to bells and organs, as long as such noise, because of its volume level, duration and character does not annoy, disturb, injure or endanger the comfort, health, peace or safety of a reasonable person of ordinary sensibilities.

(7)

Railway locomotives and other railroad equipment, aircraft and airport activity in accordance with federal laws and regulations.

(8)

Motor vehicles operating on a public right-of-way subject to F.S. § 316.293 and applicable Federal criteria.

(9)

The operation of lawn mowers, edgers, trimmers and power driven hedge shears, meeting applicable manufacturers' specifications as to sound, is allowed in a residential zone between the hours of 7:00 am and 8:00 p.m.

(10)

Operation of water craft upon any watercourse, lake, river, or swamp in the unincorporated county. Such exception shall not apply to noise or sound prohibited under section 46-131(14), or to noise or sound generated by water craft impacting abutting land areas (unless located at or on a properly zoned marina, water craft repair shop or manufacturing facility).

(11)

Refuse collection vehicles not exceeding 86 dB (A-weighted).

(12)

Construction activities for which the county has issued a development permit, as defined in F.S. § 163.3164, provided such activity occurs between 7:00 am and 10:00 pm.

(13)

Air blasts as a result of mining activity as regulated by the State of Florida Fire Marshall.

(Ord. No. 2000-07, § 8, 1-25-00; Ord. No. 00-37, § 2, 8-1-00; Ord. No. 01-45, § 2, 9-4-01)