96-041 ORD PROVIDING CODE OF ORDINANCES BE AMENDED BY ADDING ARTICLE V TO CHAPTER 21 OF SAID CODE
ORDINANCE NO. 96-041
AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF PARIS, PARIS, TEXAS, PROVIDING THAT THE
CODE OF ORDINANCES, CITY OF PARIS, BE AMENDED BY ADDING AN ARTICLE
V TO CHAPTER 21 OF SAID CODE; PROHIBITING NOISES WHICH ARE
DETRIMENTAL TO LIFE OR HEALTH; PROHIBITING UNREASONABLY LOUD,
DISTURBING AND UNNECESSARY NOISES WHICH ARE DEEMED OFFENSIVE TO
THE ORDINARY SENSIBILITIES OF THE INHABITANTS OF THE CITY;
PROHIBITING USE OF SOUND AMPLIFICATION SYSTEMS, LOUDSPEAKERS,
BELLS, SIRENS, COMPRESSION OR EXHAUST WHISTLES, AND RAILROAD
LOCOMOTIVE WHISTLES; PROVIDING FOR EXCEPTIONS; PROVIDING FOR
ENFORCEMENT; PROVIDING A SEVERABILITY CLAUSE; PROVIDING FOR A
PENALTY NOT TO EXCEED $500.00; REPEALING ALL ORDINANCES OR PARTS OF
ORDINANCES IN CONFLICT HEREWITH; AND PROVIDING FOR AN EFFECTIVE
DATE OF AUGUST 1, 1996.
BE IT ORDAINED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PARIS:
Section 1. That Chapter 21 the Code of Ordinances of the City of Paris, Paris, Texas,
be, and the same is hereby, amended by adding an Article V thereto so that such shall read as
follows:
"ARTICLE V. NOISE
"Sec. 21-100. Making of noises detrimental to life or health prohibited.
"It shall be unlawful for any person to make, cause to be made, or allow noise
of such character, intensity and duration as to be detrimental to the life or health
of any individual in the City.
"Sec. 21-101. Noises interfering with enjoyment of property or public peace
and comfort.
"No person shall make, cause to be made, or allow any unreasonably loud,
disturbing and unnecessary noise in the City which is offensive to the ordinary
sensibilities of the inhabitants of the City, which noise renders the enjoyment of
life or property uncomfortable or interferes with public peace and comfort.
"Sec. 21-102. Same - Enumerated.
"The following acts, among others, are declared to create loud, disturbing and
unnecessary noises, and shall be deemed a violation of this Article, but such
enumeration shall not be deemed to be exclusive:
"(a) The continued or frequent sounding of any horn or signal
device on any automobile, motorcycle, bus, or other vehicle, or
the creation by means of any such signal device of any
unreasonably loud or harsh noise for any unnecessary purpose or
unreasonable period of time, except as a danger signal, or as may
be required by law, if another vehicle is backing, starting or
turning in such a manner as to likely cause a collision.
"(b) The playing of any radio, television, phonograph, stereo,
drum, musical instrument or other similar devices in such an
unreasonable manner, or at such an unreasonable volume, as to
disturb the peace, quiet, comfort or repose of persons of ordinary
sensibilities in any dwelling, apartment, hotel, or other type of
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residence, or any place of business in the immediate vicinity
thereof.
"(c) The owning, keeping, possessing or harboring of any
animal or fowl which, by making frequent or habitual unreasonable
noises, disturb the comfort and repose of persons of ordinary
sensibilities in the immediate vicinity thereof.
"(d) The use of any automobile, motorcycle, bus, or other
vehicle so out of repair, or sa loaded, which emits or creates loud
or unnecessary grating, grinding or rattling noise.
"(e) Noise from use-related loading or unloading operations that
impact residential areas other than between the hours of 7:00 a.m.
and 10:00 p.m.
"(f) The blowing of any steam whistle attached to any stationary
boiler with an unreasonable frequency and at an unreasonable
volume, except to give notice of the time to begin or stop work or
as a warning of danger.
"(g) The discharge into the open air of the exhaust of any
stationary steam engine, stationary internal combustion engine or
motor boat engine, except through a muffler or other device which
will effectively and efficiently prevent unreasonably loud noises.
"(h) The discharge into the open air of the exhaust from any
motor vehicle except through a muffler, or other device, which
will effectively and efficiently prevent unreasonably loud noises.
"(i) The use of any mechanical device operated by compressed
air, unless the noise to be created thereby has been effectively
muffled and reduced.
"(j) The erection, including excavation, demolition, alteration,
or repair of any building in or adjacent to a residential area other
than between the hours of 7:00 a.m. and 10:00 p.m., except in the
case of urgent necessity in the interest of public safety.
"(k) The creation of unreasonably loud, disturbing and
unnecessary noise on any street adjacent to any school or other
institute of learning, place of religious worship, or court which is
in session, or adjacent to any hospital.
"(1) The shouting and crying of peddlers, hawkers and vendors
which disturbs the quiet and peace of the neighborhood.
"(m) The use of any drum, or other instrument, or sound
amplifying equipment for the purpose of attracting attention, by the
creation of noise, to any performance, show, sale or display of
merchandise or to attract customers to any place of business or
transmitting music to any person or persons or assemblages of
persons in such a manner as to be offensive to the ordinary
sensibilities of inhabitants of the city and as to interfere with the
public peace and comfort or make the enjoyment of life or
property uncomfortable.
"(n) The use of inechanical loudspeakers or sound amplifiers on
trucks or other moving vehicles for the purpose of advertising any
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show, sale or display of inerchandise in such a manner as to be
offensive to the ordinary sensibilities of inhabitants of the city and
as to interfere with the public peace and comfort or make the
enjoyment of life or property uncomfortable.
"Sec. 21-103. Vehicular mounted sound amplification systems.
"(a) It shall be unlawful for any person operating or controlling a motor vehicle
in either a public or private place within the City to operate any sound amplifier
which is part of, or connected to, any radio, stereo receiver, compact disc player,
cassette tape player or other similar device in the motor vehicle, in such a manner
that, when operated, is audible at a distance of fifty (50) feet, or, when operated,
causes a person to be aware of the vibration accompanying the sound at a distance
of fifty (50) feet from the source.
"(b) The provisions of this Section do not apply to vehicles operated in the
performance of duty by law enforcement officers, fire department or ambulances.
"Sec.21-104. Presumption.
"(a) Whenever a violation of Section 21-102(n) or Section 21-103(a) of this
Article occurs, it is presumed that the registered owner of the vehicle for which
the citation was issued is the person who committed the violation, either
personally or through an agent or employee. Proof of ownership may be made
by a computer-generated record of the registration of the vehicle with the Texas
Department of Transportation showing the name of the person to whom state
license plates were issued. This proof is prima facie evidence of the ownership
of the vehicle by the person to whom the certificate of registration was issued.
"(b) If noise exceeds a decibel level of 85 after the person making the noise
receives notice from a peace officer that the noise is a public nuisance, such noise
is presumed to be loud and raucous.
"Sec. 21-105. Loudspeakers and amplifiers.
"(a) A person commits an offense if he operates, or causes to be operated, any
mechanical loudspeaker or sound amplifier in a public place or upon any public
sidewalk, street, alley or highway of the City in violation of any of the following
limitations and requirements:
"(1) No mechanical loudspeaker or sound amplifier may be
operated within 150 feet of the property line of the premises of a
residence, except between the hours of 7:00 a.m. and 10:00 p.m.
"(2) A mechanical loudspeaker or sound amplifier may not emit
unreasonably loud, disturbing and unnecessary noises so as to
interfere with the enjoyment of life or property or to interfere with
public peace and comfort.
"(3) A mechanical loudspeaker or sound amplifier must be
operated so as not to cause traffic congestion or congregation of
crowds that obstructs any public sidewalk, street, alley or
highway.
"(4) A mechanical loudspeaker or sound amplifier may not be
operated within 150 feet of any of the following:
"(A) hospital;
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"(B) school that is in session;
"(C) court that is in session;
° (D) nursing home;
"(E) facility that provides surgical services to
patients who do not require overnight hospital care
during the hours of operation of the facility;
"(F) place of religious worship while services are
being conducted; or
"(G) funeral home while services are being
conducted.
"(b) In this Section:
"(1) Residence means a single-family, duplex or multi-family
dwelling.
"(2) Surgical services means therapy of a mechanical or
operative kind, including, but not limited to, operations involving
cutting, the setting of fractures and dislocations, and similar
manual forms of treatment.
"(c) If conduct that would otherwise violate this Section consists of speech or
other communication, of gathering with others to hear or observe such speech or
communication, or of gathering with others to picket or otherwise express in a
nonviolent manner a position on social, economic, political or religious questions,
the person must be ordered to move, disperse or otherwise remedy the violation
prior to arrest or citation.
"(d) The arder required by Subsection (c) may be given by a peace officer, a
fireman, a person with authority to control the use of the premises, or any person
directly affected by the violation.
"(e) It is a defense to prosecution under Subsection (a) that:
"(1) in circumstances in which this Section requires an order, no
order was given;
"(2) an order, if given, was manifestly unreasonable in scope;
"(3) an order, if given, was promptly obeyed;
"(4) the mechanical loudspeaker or sound amplifier was operated
in a public place within an enclosed structure and was not audible
beyond the property line of the premises on which it was located;
"(5) the person operating the mechanical loud speaker or sound
amplifier was a law enforcement officer or member of the fire
department in the performance of official duties;
"(6) the mechanical loudspeaker or sound amplifier was operated
for the purpose of alerting persons to the existence of an
emergency or danger; or,
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"(7) the mechanical loudspeaker or sound amplifier was operated
in the performance of emergency work necessary to restore public
utilities, to restore property to a safe condition, or to protect
persons or property from imminent danger following a fire,
accident or natural disaster.
"Sec. 21-106. Use of bell, siren or compression or exhaust whistle on vehicles.
"No vehicle shall be equipped with, and no person shall use upon a vehicle, any
bell, siren or compression or exhaust whistle, except that vehicles operated in the
performance of duty by law enforcement officers, the fire department and
ambulances may attach and use a bell, siren or compression or exhaust whistle.
"Sec. 21-107. Railroad locomotive whistles regulated.
"It shall be unlawful for any person or railroad company to blow, or cause or
permit the blowing of, any whistle or audible warning device on any locomotive,
or single blast therefrom, within the corporate limits of the City for a longer
period of time than five (5) seconds, except as a warning of danger or when there
is imminent danger of an accident involving such locomotive.
"5ec.21-108. Exceptions.
"The provisions of this article shall not apply to:
"(a) Sound caused in the performance of emergency or public
service work, including police, fire, emergency medical services
and public utility operations, acting in the performance of lawful
duties to protect the health, safety or welfare of the community;
°(b) Any vehicle of the city, county or state while engaged in
necessary public business;
"(c) The intentional sounding or permitting the sounding of any
fire, burglar or civil defense alarm, siren, whistle or similar
stationary or emergency signaling devise for emergency purposes
or for testing;
"(d) The use of bells or chimes in conjunction with places of
religious worship;
"(e) Sound generated during a special event for which a Special
Events Permit has been issued under Chapter 24, Article II, of the
Code of Ordinances of the City of Paris;
fl The following activities, as long as they are conducted
between the hours of 7:00 a.m. and 10:00 p.m. as a normal
function of a permitted use and the equipment is maintained in
proper working order:
"(1) Lawn maintenance;
"(2) Repair of personal-use vehicles; and
"(3) Home repair of place of residence.
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"Sec. 109. Enforcement; penalties.
"Any private citizen may enforce compliance with this Article by filing a
complaint in the municipal court of the City of Paris. Any person, firm,
company, partnership, corporation or association violating any of the provisions
of this Article shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction, shall be
fined in any sum not to exceed $500.00, and each and every day's continuance
of any violation of this Article shall constitute and be deemed a separate offense. "
Section 2. It is hereby declared to be the intention of the City Council that the sections,
paragraphs, sentences, clauses and phrases of this ordinance are severable, and, if any section,
paragraph, sentence, clause, or phrase of this ordinance shall be declared unconstitutional by the
valid judgement or decree of any court of competent jurisdiction, such unconstitutionality shall
not affect any of the remaining sections, paragraphs, sentences, clauses, and phrases of this
ordinance, since the same would have been enacted by the City Council without the
incorporation in this ordinance of such unconstitutional section, paragraph, sentence, clause, or
phrase.
Section 3. Any person violating any of the provisions of this ordinance shall be guilty
of a Misdemeanor and, upon conviction, shall be fined in any sum not to exceed $500.00, and
each and every day's continuance of any violation of the above enumerated sections shall
constitute and be deemed a separate offense.
Section 4. All ordinances or parts of ordinances in conflict herewith are expressly
repealed.
5ection 5. This ordinance shall become effective on August 1, 1996.
PASSED AND ADOPTED this 15th day of July, 19 .
Eric S. ifford, Mayor -
ATTEST:
\
Mattie Cunningham, City Clerk
APFR VED T FORM:
T. K. Haynes ity Attorney
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