by Andrew Henderson

Shhhhhh…

Members of the Volney Town board adopted a noise ordinance during last week’s meeting. The purpose of the law is to prevent excessive, unnecessary, unnatural, or unusually loud noise within town boundaries.

“This is patterned after the noise ordinance in the City of Oswego,” said board member Kevin Connelly. “This gives us the ability that if something does happen or somebody does have a problem we can help them out. It’s not intended to be something that we put the hammer down on people. It is more or less to give us a tool to work with in the case there are issues.”

The noise ordinance also coincides with the operation of Northeast Biofuels, an ethanol-production facility in Riverview Business Park.

“If by some chance, they begin operating in a manner with excessive noise, if we don’t have an ordinance in place, it is very hard to cite them,” said Connelly. “We know that one of the issues with the opening of the plant is periodic dispersal of carbon dioxide, so it can be noisy. We just want to make sure that we have regulations in place.”

According to the law, no one can use or operate an instrument of device that causes a sound or reproduces a sound that disturbs the peace and quiet of neighbors.

“Over the last five or six years, some people have issues with their neighbors who have dirt bikes and four wheelers,” said Connelly. “Some people have put in tracks in their back yards, and it’s nice if you talk to your neighbors about it and get alone well, but unfortunately there have been some occasions where there have been issues.”

Specifically, the law addresses animals, alarms, emergency-vehicle devices, motor vehicles, outdoor power equipment, construction activities, parties, and outdoor social events.

The law states that no one can own, harbor, or possess an animal that continuously or frequently creates an unreasonable sound. This includes a barking dog that barks continuously, specifically for more than a 10-minute period.

Also, no person can maintain an alarm system in a building or motor vehicle unless the alarm system is capable of automatically ceasing operation within a 15-minute time period from the time of activation.

The law also forbids the operation of a motor vehicle in a way that would create unreasonable noise. Examples include spinning of tires and gunning of engines. Sound emanating from a vehicle, such as the use of “boom boxes,” cannot exceed limitations set in the local law.

The use of outdoor power equipment and power tools, which generate an unreasonable noise beyond real-property boundaries during nighttime hours, are prohibited. Also, no one can engage in construction or permit construction during the night time. Excluded is emergency work or equipment or temporary activities reviewed by and approved by the code-enforcement officer.

No one can operate or permit use of a public place, such as a bar or restaurant, where the sound equals or exceeds 55 decibels for greater than 30 seconds in an adjoining residential area. Excluded will be events such as concerts or races of limited duration that occur no more than four times per month during the summer and do not exceed two hours in duration during night-time hours.

The law outlines the measurement of permissible sound levels for both residential and commercial/industrial.

For residential, the permissible sound level during day (7 a.m. to 9 p.m.) is 65 decibels while the permissible sound level during the night (9 p.m. to 7 a.m.) is 55 decibels. For commercial/industrial, the permissible sound level during day is 65 decibels while the permissible sound level during the night (9 p.m. to 7 a.m.) is 55 decibels.

The law does not apply to emergency vehicles or activities, publicly-sponsored events approved by the town, or snow-removal equipment of the town, county, and state.

The law will be enforced by law-enforcement agencies or the town code-enforcement officer. Any one found in violation of the law will be subject to a fine of not less than $100 or more than $500 for the first offense. For the second and subsequent offenses, the fines jump to $500 to $1,000, imprisonment for a period of 15 days, or a combination of fine and imprisonment.

The law will take effect immediately after it is filed with the New York State Department of State.