RESOLUTION ESTABLISHING STANDARDS FOR
Noise in Kinsman Township
ATTENTION KINSMAN TOWNSHIP RESIDENTS
WHEREAS, the Board believes that for the general health, safety and welfare of citizens of Kinsman Township, Trumbull County, Ohio, it is appropriate to adopt regulations necessary to control noise generated within the Township; and
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WHEREAS, the Board is empowered by Ohio Revised Code Section 505.172 to exercise all powers of local government not in conflict with the general law of the State and to establish local police, sanitary and other regulations; and preserve peace; and
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WHEREAS, on December 9, 2024, the Board adopted a Resolution Establishing Standards for Noise; and
WHEREAS the Board finds and declares that it is in the best interest of Kinsman Township and the residents of Kinsman Township and consistent with public health and safety.
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NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE Board of Trustees of Kinsman Township. Kinsman County, Ohio by authority of Sections 505.172 of the Ohio Revised Code, as follows:
SECTION 1: DEFINITIONS
Loud and Raucous Noise: For the purposes of this resolution, the term “loud and raucous noise” shall mean any sound that, because of its volume level, duration and character, annoys, disturbs, inures or endangers the comfort, health, peace or safety of reasonable persons of ordinary sensibilities.
Plainly Audible: For purposes of this resolution, the term “plainly audible” shall mean any sound that can be clearly heard at a distance of 100 feet or more from the source of the sound by a person with normal hearing using ordinary auditory sense without artificial enhancement.
SECTION 2: PROHIBITED GENERALLY; PROHIBITIONS; EXEMPTIONS
A. No person shall generate or permit to be generated noise of loud sound which is likely to cause inconvenience or annoyance to persons of ordinary sensibilities that can be heard upon the public streets, in any public park, parking lot, in any school or public building, in any church or grounds thereof, or in any occupied business establishment or occupied residential dwelling of another, including noise generated by the activities enumerated below in subsection B, but excluding the activities enumerated in subsection C.
B. The following noises are declared to be loud and raucous noises in violation of this resolution:
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Operation or amplification of any radios, musical instruments, televisions or electronic sound making devices so as to create a noise that is plainly audible before 7:00 a.m. or after 10:00 p.m. on any day;
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Live outdoor performances so as to create a noise that is plainly audible before 7:00 a.m. and after 10:00 p.m. on any day;
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Construction, erection, excavation, demolition, alteration or repair of any building or structure so as to create a noise that is plainly audible before 7:00 a.m. or after 7:00 p.m. on any day of the week, except in the case of emergency or urgent necessity for the interest of public health and safety;
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Delivery of goods, materials or merchandise to commercial properties adjacent to residentially zoned property so as to create a noise that is plainly audible before 7:00 a.m. or after 9:00 p.m. on any day;
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Operation of property maintenance equipment, including but not limited to lawn tractors, lawnmowers, roto-tillers, chainsaws, weed-eaters, lawn-edgers, trimmers or leaf blowers, so as to create a noise that is plainly audible before 7:00 a.m. or after 9:00 p.m. on any day.
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A dog barking, howling, or yelping for a period of longer than 10 minutes continually as under Ohio Revised Code §955.221(A)(2).
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Excessive engine noise, emitting a loud, cracking or chattering noise unusual to its normal operation under Ohio Revised Code §4513.221(F) and §505.17;
C. The following activities are declared to be exempt and do not create loud and raucous noise in violation of this resolution:
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Cries for emergency assistance and warning calls;
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Communications equipment and audible warning signal devices on police, fire, emergency medical service or other emergency response vehicles;
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Horns and other audible warning devices required or permitted to be installed on vehicles for safety reasons;
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Activities on or in township or school athletic facilities an on or in publicly owned facilities
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Parades, fireworks displays or other special events that are conducted in areas not zoned as residential, except that such events shall be limited to the hours of 7:00 a.m. and 12:00 midnight on any day.
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Locomotives, other railroad equipment, and aircraft over which the federal government has exclusive authority to regulate;
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Any other activity that is exempt from regulation by the township under federal or state law
SECTION 3: ENFORCEMENT
A. Notwithstanding any enforcement action taken against the person actually making, continuing or causing to be made or continued any noise in violation of this resolution, any person, owner, agent, manager or supervisor in charge of operating, ordering, directing or allowing the operation or maintenance of a device, machine or other source of noise in violation of this resolution shall be subject to enforcement of this resolution so long as the person, owner, agent, manager or supervisor had knowledge or reason to know that the activity was occurring, failed to intervene in an attempt to prevent the activity from occurring, and had the power or authority to prevent the activity from occurring.
B. Any person allegedly aggrieved by another person's violation of this regulation, or the Township Trustees initiating enforcement of this resolution, shall use the following standards:
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The primary means of detection shall be each person’s ordinary auditory senses without mechanical or electronic enhancement
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The source of the sound shall be determined by the person’s direct line of sight and hearing; and
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The distance shall be determined to be 100 feet or greater by use of a measuring device or by visual estimation in comparison to fixed points of reference; as long as the distance is reasonably shown to be 100 feet or greater, the exact distance at the time of the violation need not be established.