Jefferson residential neighborhoods will be quiet overnight if the Jefferson city council adopts a noise control ordinance on the agenda for first reading at the June 9 council meeting.
The proposed noise ordinance prohibits creating a “noise disturbance” any time of the day. The limit is 65 decibels between 7 am and 9 pm, and 55 dB between 9 pm and 7 am.
The definition of noise disturbance is rather subjective. The ordinance defines a noise disturbance as “any sound which endangers or injures the welfare, safety or health of a human being or disturbs a reasonable human being of normal sensitivities, or causes or tends to cause an adverse physiological or physical effect on human beings or devalues or injures property.”
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, noise above 70 dB over a prolonged period of time may start to damage a person’s hearing. Normal conversation is 60 dB. A washing machine or dishwasher is 70 dB, a lawn mower or leaf blower is 80-85 dB, and a motorcycle is 95 dB.
The ordinance limits the noise level of a motor vehicle to 75 dB measured at a distance of 25 feet. It prohibits operating a vehicle with an exhaust system modified to make it louder than its original manufacture.
The ordinance includes a long list of exceptions, including the sounds of the Mahanay Memorial Carillon Tower, church bells, law enforcement vehicles and officials, trains, fireworks displayed by the city, Greene County Fair activities, and marching bands and athletic events.
Other exceptions have times specified. Drums, horns, reed, string and other musical instruments are excluded between 7 am and 9 pm. So are hedge trimmers, lawn mowers, snow blowers, tillers and power tools, and the sound made by repairing, rebuilding, modifying or testing a motor vehicle or recreational vehicle.
Maximum permitted levels will be 70 dB in commercial areas, 75 dB in industrial areas, and 65 dB in parks. Levels in those areas are the same day or night.
Persons or groups that know they’ll exceed noise limits can apply for a permit specifying the what, when, where, type of sounds and number of people who will be exposed to the noise. A $100 deposit will be required.
Violation of the noise ordinance is a simple misdemeanor. Each day a violation occurs or is permitted to exist constitutes a separate offense.
