§ 12-51. Motorized vehicles, motorboats or other watercraft

(a) No person shall operate the engine providing motive power or any auxiliary engine of a motor vehicle with a manufacturer's gross vehicle weight rating of 10,000 pounds or more for a consecutive period longer than 20 minutes while such vehicle is standing and located within 150 feet of property zoned and used for residential purposes, except where such vehicle is standing within a completely enclosed structure. This section shall not apply to delivery or pickup vehicles that require the operation of the engine to unload or load their vending loads.

(b) No person shall operate within the speed limits specified in this section either a motor vehicle or a combination of vehicles of a type subject to registration at any time or under any condition of grade, load, acceleration or deceleration in such manner as to exceed the noise limits listed in table II for the category of motor vehicle based on the legal speed limit, posted or not, of the road or way on which operated. Such noise shall be measured at a distance of no more than 50 feet from the centerline of travel under test procedures established by subsection (c) of this section. In the event the distance of the measuring instrument from the centerline of travel is less than 50 feet, such listed noise limits shall be corrected to reflect the equivalent noise limits for the actual distance.

NOISE TABLE II
Noise Limit in Relation to Legal Speed Limit

Type of Vehicle	35 mph or Less	Over 35 mph
Any motor vehicle with a manufacturer's gross vehicle weight rating of 10,000 pounds or more and any combination of vehicles towed by such motor vehicle	88 dB(A)	92 dB(A)
Any motorcycle	82 dB(A)	86 dB(A)
Any other motor vehicle and any combination of motor vehicles towed by such motor vehicle	76 dB(A)	82 dB(A)

 

This section applies to the total noise from a vehicle or combination of vehicles and shall not be construed as limiting or precluding the enforcement of any other provisions of this Revision relating to motor vehicle muffler or noise control.

(c) The measurement of sound or noise shall be made with a sound level meter meeting standards prescribed by the American National Standards Institute or its successor body. The instrument shall be maintained in calibration and good working order. A calibration check shall be made of the system at the time of any noise measurement. Measurements recorded shall be taken so as to provide a proper representation of the noise source. The microphone during measurement shall be positioned so as not to create any unnatural enhancement or diminution of the measured noise. A windscreen for the microphone shall be used when required. Traffic, aircraft and other transportation noise sources and other background noise interferes with the primary noise being measured.

(d) Every motor vehicle and motorboat shall at all times be equipped with a muffler in good working order and in constant operation to prevent noise which exceeds the dBA levels in table II in subsection (b) of this section. No person shall use a muffler cutout, bypass or similar device upon a motor vehicle on a highway.

(e) No person shall modify the exhaust system of a motor vehicle or motorcycle by installation of a muffler or bypass and no person shall operate a motor vehicle or motorcycle which has been so modified.

(f) No person shall operate an off-road recreational vehicle or permit the operation of one or more off-road recreational vehicles, individually or in a group or in an organized racing event, on public or private property in such a manner as to create a noise disturbance across a real property boundary or in a noise sensitive area.

(g) No person shall sound any horn or other auditory signaling device on or in any motor vehicle on any public right-of-way or public space, except as a warning of danger or as provided in the vehicle code.

(h) No person shall sound any horn or other auditory signaling device so as to create or cause a noise disturbance.

(i) No person shall operate or permit the operation of any motor boat or other watercraft in any pond, harbor, ocean or other waterway in such a manner so as to cause a noise disturbance and/or as to exceed a sound level of 65 dBA at 150 feet or the nearest shoreline, whichever is less.

(Rev. Ords. 1989, § 12-51; Ord. of 3-18-1992; Ord. of 4-6-2005(3), § 12-51)

refcross

Marine activities, areas and structures, ch. 9; traffic and motor vehicles, ch. 18.