Criminal Defense Lawyer

Excessive noise is an issue which the police and town of Manasquan frequently seek to enforce.  In order for someone to be arrested and convicted for excessive noise, they have to violate the Manasquan noise ordinance.  The criminal attorneys at the Law Offices of Jonathan F. Marshall defend individuals charged or arrested for a criminal offense or motor vehicle violation in Manasquan, including DWI, DUI and Refusal.  The Noise Ordinance of Manasquan provides as follows:

3-1 NOISE.

3-1.1 Short Title.

This section may be cited as the " Noise Regulations of the Borough of Manasquan." (1972 Code § 76-1)

3-1.2 Findings.

Whereas, excessive noise is a serious hazard to the public health and welfare and the quality of life. A substantial body of science and technology exists by which excessive noise may be substantially abated. The people have a right to and should be ensured an environment free from noise that may jeopardize their health or welfare or degrade the quality of life. The necessity in the public interest for the provisions and prohibitions hereinafter contained and enacted, is declared as a matter of legislative determination and public policy and the provisions and prohibitions hereinafter contained and enacted are in pursuance of and for the purpose of securing and promoting the public health, comfort, convenience, safety and welfare and the peace and quiet of the inhabitants of the Borough. Now, therefore, it is the policy of the Borough to prevent noise which may jeopardize the health or welfare of its citizens or degrade the quality of life. (1972 Code § 76-2)

3-1.3 Terminology and Standards.

All terminology used in this section and not defined below shall be in conformance with applicable publications of the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) or its successor body. (1972 Code § 76-3)

3-1.4 Definitions.

As used in this section:

Ambient noise level shall mean the sound pressure level of the all encompassing noise associated with a given environment, being usually a composite of sounds from many sources and/or the A-weighted sound pressure level exceeded ninety (90%) percent of the time/L90 based on a one (1)-hour period.

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

Continuous noise shall mean a steady, fluctuating or impact noise which exists, essentially without interruptions, for a period of one (1) hour or more.

Cyclically varying noise shall mean a steady, fluctuating or impulsive noise which may or may not contain a pure tone, which varies in sound pressure level such that the same level is obtained repetitively at reasonably uniform intervals of time.

Decibel shall mean a logarithmic (dimensionless) unit of measure often used in describing the amplitude of sound. Decibel is denoted as "dB."

Department shall mean any municipal agency.

Device shall mean any mechanism which is intended to produce or which actually produces noise when operated or handled.

Emergency vehicle shall mean a motor vehicle used in response to a public calamity or to protect persons or property from imminent danger.

Emergency work shall mean work made necessary to restore property to a safe condition following a public calamity, work to restore public utilities, or work required to protect persons or property from an imminent exposure to danger.

Fluctuating noise shall mean the sound pressure level of a fluctuating noise varies more than six (6) dB(A) during the period of observation when measured with the slow meter characteristic of a sound level meter, and does not equal the previously existing ambient noise level more than once during the period of observation.

Motorboat shall mean any vehicles which are primarily operated on water or which do operate on water, such as boats, barges, amphibious craft or Hovercraft, and which are at any time propelled by mechanical power.

Motor vehicle shall mean any vehicles which are propelled or drawn by mechanical equipment, such as but not limited to passenger cars, trucks, truck-trailers, semitrailers, campers, motorcycles, minibikes, go-carts, snowmobile, amphibious craft on land, dune buggies or racing vehicles.

Muffler shall mean any apparatus consisting of baffles, chambers or acoustical absorbing materials, whose primary purpose is to transmit liquids or gases while causing a reduction in sound emission at one end.

Noise shall mean any sound which is unwanted or which causes or tends to cause an adverse psychological effect on human beings.

Noise disturbance shall mean any sound which annoys, disturbs or perturbs reasonable persons with normal sensitivities; or any sound which injures or endangers the comfort, repose, health, hearing, peace or safety of other persons.

Person shall mean any individual, association, partnership or corporation, and includes any officer, employee, department, agency or instrumentality of the United States, a state or any political subdivision of that state.

Plainly audible noise shall mean any noise for which the information content of that noise is unambiguously communicated to the listener, such as but not limited to understandable spoken speech or comprehensible musical rhythms.

Powered model vehicles shall mean any powered vehicles, either airborne, waterborne or landborne, which are designed not to carry persons or property, such as but not limited to model airplanes, boats, cars or rockets, and which can be propelled by mechanical means.

Property boundary shall mean an imaginary line at the ground surface, which line separates the real property owned by one (1) person from that owned by another person, and its vertical extension.

Public right-of-way and public space shall mean any street, avenue, boulevard, highway, alley or public space which is owned or controlled by a public government entity.

Pure tone shall mean any noise 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 (1/3) octave band sound pressure level in the band with the tone exceeds the arithmetic average of the sound pressure levels of the two (2) contiguous one-third (1/3) octave bands by five (5) dB for frequencies of five hundred (500) hertz and above, by eight (8) dB for frequencies between one hundred sixty (160) and four hundred (400) hertz and by fifteen (15) dB for frequencies less than or equal to one hundred twenty-five (125) hertz.

Repetitive impulsive noise shall mean any noise which is composed of impulsive noises that are repeated at sufficiently slow rates such that a sound level meter set at fast meter characteristic will show changes in sound pressure level greater than two (2) dB(A).

Sound shall mean a temporal and spatial oscillation in pressure, or other physical quantity, in a medium with internal forces, that causes compression and rarefaction of that medium and that propagates at finite speed to distinct points.

Sound level meter shall mean an instrument, which includes a microphone, RMS detector, integrator or time averager, output meter and weighting networks, used to measure sound pressure levels.

Sound pressure shall mean the instantaneous difference between the actual pressure and the average or barometric pressure at a given point in space.

Stationary emergency signaling devices shall mean any device, excluding those attached to motor vehicles, used to alert persons engaged in emergency operations. These include, but are not limited to, firefighters, first aid squad members and law enforcement officers, whether paid or volunteer.

Stationary noise source shall mean any device, fixed or movable, which is located or used on geographically defined, real property other than a public right-of-way.

Steady noise shall mean a sound pressure level which remains essentially constant during the period of observation, i.e., the fluctuations are too small to meet the criterion for fluctuating noise.

Weekday shall mean any Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday or Friday which is not a legal holiday.

(1972 Code § 76-4)

3-1.5 Enforcing Agency.

It shall be the duty and responsibility of the Police Department and the Code Enforcement Department of the Borough to enforce the provisions of this section. (1972 Code § 76-5)

3-1.6 Method of Enforcement.

A violation of this chapter shall be cause for summons and complaint to be issued forthwith; provided, however, that if the noise source is not a motor vehicle moving on a public right-of way, in lieu of a summons and complaint, enforcement personnel may issue a twenty-four (24) hour notice, in writing, which may be served personally or by certified mail to the last known address of the person or persons in charge of or in control of the device, building or premises to abate the violation of this section. Failure to comply with the order so issued and served shall constitute a violation of this section. (1972 Code § 76-6; New)

3-1.7 Powers of the Police Department.

In order to implement the purposes of this section, the Police Department and the Code Enforcement Department of the Borough shall have the power to:

a. Studies. Conduct, or cause to be conducted, studies, research and monitoring related to noise.

b. Education. Conduct programs of public education regarding the causes and effects of noise but not giving specific advice for its abatement, and to encourage the participation of public interest groups in related public information efforts.

c. Inspections. For reasonable cause, and upon presentation of proper credentials, enter any building, property, premises or place and inspect any noise source for the purpose of ascertaining the compliance or noncompliance with any provision of this section, or have access to, and require the production of, books and papers pertinent to any matter under investigation.

d. Records. Require the owner or operator of any noise source to establish and maintain records and make such reports as the Police Department may reasonably prescribe.

e. Measurements. Require the owner or operator of any noise source to measure the noise emissions thereof in accordance with such methods and procedures and at such locations and times as the Police Department may reasonably prescribe.

(1972 Code § 76-7; New)

3-1.8 Prohibited Noises; General.

It shall be unlawful for any person, within the limits of the Borough to:

a. Make, continue or cause to be made or continued any excessive or unusually loud noise or noise disturbance; or,

b. Allow a person on premises or within a structure under his or her control, as an owner or lessee, to make, continue or cause to be made or continued any excessive or unusually loud noise or noise disturbance.

(1972 Code § 76-8; Ord. No. 1424)

3-1.9 Noise Prohibitions Enumerated.

The following acts, among others, are declared to be loud, disturbing or excessive noise in violation of this section, but the enumeration shall not be deemed to be exclusive:

a. Horns and Signaling Devices. The sounding of any horn or signaling device on any motor vehicle on any public right-of-way, except as a danger warning signal or as provided in the Vehicle Code of the State of New Jersey.

b. Radios, Television Sets and Similar Devices.

1. Operating or permitting the use or operation of any radio receiving set, musical instrument, television, phonograph, drum or other device for the production or reproduction of sound in such a manner as to cause a noise disturbance; or

2. Operating any such device in a manner as to be plainly audible across real property boundaries or through partitions common to two (2) parties within a building, or plainly audible at fifty (50) feet from such device when operated within a motor vehicle parked, placed or situated on a public right-of-way or on a public space or within a motorboat.

c. Exterior Loudspeakers. Using or operating any mechanical device or loudspeaker in a fixed or movable position exterior to any building or mounted upon any aircraft, motor vehicles or motorboat, such that the sound therefrom is plainly audible at or beyond the property boundary of the source or on a public way.

d. Animals. Owning, keeping, possessing or harboring any animal or animals which, by frequent or habitual howling, barking, meowing, squawking or other noise-making, cause a noise disturbance. The provisions of this section shall also apply to all private or public facilities, including any animal pounds, which hold or treat animals.

e. Loading Operations. Loading, unloading, opening or otherwise handling boxes, crates, containers, garbage cans or similar objects between the hours of 6:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m. the following day in such a manner as to cause a noise disturbance.

f. Construction Noise. Operating or causing to be operated any equipment used in commercial construction, repair, alteration or demolition work on buildings, structures, streets, alleys or appurtenances thereto, in residential or commercial land use categories, on weekdays between the hours of 6:00 p.m. and 8:00 a.m. the following day, or between 6:00 p.m. Saturday night and 8:00 a.m. Monday morning and on legal holidays.

g. Vehicle Repairs or Testing. Repairing, rebuilding, modifying or testing any motor vehicle, off-road vehicle or motorboat in or near a residential use district in such a manner as to cause a noise disturbance or violate the provisions of subsection 3-1.11.

h. Places of Public Entertainment. Operating or permitting to be operated any loudspeaker or other source of sound in any place of public entertainment which produces maximum levels of ninety (90) dB(A) at any point that is normally occupied by a human being as read with the slow response on a sound level meter, without a conspicuous and legible sign located outside such place, near the entrance stating "WARNING, SOUND ENVIRONMENT WITHIN MAY CAUSE TEMPORARY HEARING IMPAIRMENT WHICH MAY BECOME PERMANENT WITH CONTINUED EXPOSURE."

i. Powered Model Vehicles. Operating or permitting the operation of powered model vehicles between the hours of 8:00 p.m. and 8:00 a.m. the following morning. Maximum sound pressure levels during the permitted period of operation shall conform to those set forth in Table 1 of subsection 3-1.11 and shall be measured at the property boundary of the source or at a distance of one hundred (100) feet, if it is operated in a public place.

j. Refuse Compacting Vehicles. The operating or permitting the operation of any motor vehicle which can compact refuse and which creates, during the compacting cycle, a disturbing noise between the hours of 6:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m. the following day in residential use districts.

k. Standing Motor Vehicles. Operating or permitting the operation of the motor of any motor vehicle whose manufacturer's gross weight is in excess of ten thousand (10,000) pounds or any attached auxiliary equipment for a period longer than three (3) minutes in any hour while such vehicle is stationary on a public right-of-way in a residential district or in any designated quiet zone, or is on private property in a residential or commercial zone and is not within a completely enclosed structure.

l. Bells and Alarms. The sounding or permitting the sounding of any exterior burglar alarm on any building or motor vehicle unless such burglar alarm shall terminate its operation within fifteen (15) minutes of its being activated. Any motor vehicle upon which a burglar alarm has been installed shall prominently display the telephone number at which communication may be made with the owner of such motor vehicle.

m. Stationary Emergency Signaling Devices. Testing of only the electromechanical functioning of a stationary emergency signaling device shall occur at the same time each day that a test is performed, but not before 7:00 a.m. or after 8:00 p.m. Any such testing shall only use the minimum cycle test time.

n. Operating or permitting to be operated any powered saw, sander, drill, grinder, garden equipment or tools of like nature, used primarily for domestic purposes, outdoors in residential zones between the hours of 8:00 p.m. and 8:00 a.m. the following day.

(1972 Code § 76-9; Ord. No. 1493; Ord. No. 1514-90; Ord. No. 1520-90)

3-1.10 Emergencies.

Noise caused in the performance of emergency work for the immediate safety, health or welfare of the community or individuals of the community, or to restore property to a safe condition following a public calamity shall not be subject to the provisions of this chapter. Nothing in this subsection shall be construed to permit law enforcement, ambulance, fire or other emergency personnel to make excessive noise in the performance of their duties when such noise is clearly unnecessary. The use of stationary emergency signaling devices shall be for emergency use only. (1972 Code § 76-10)

3-1.11 Maximum Permissible Continuous Sound Pressure Levels; by Land Use.

It shall be unlawful for any person to operate, or permit to be operated, any stationary source of noise in such a manner as to create a sound pressure level which exceeds the limits set forth for the receiving land use (Land Use Category) in Table 1 when measured at the property boundary. When a noise source can be identified and its noise measured in more than one (1) land use category, the limits of the most restrictive use shall apply at the boundaries between different land use categories.