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Ordinance No. _____ _
An Ordinance amending Section 15-93, titled "Noise-creating blowers, power fans, or
internal combustion engines, re-titling the ordinance, increasing its scope, defining
offenses, establishing criteria for measuring noise and establishing penalties.
15
WHEREAS, City residents are entitled to peace and quiet at night and on the weekends and
holidays; and
WHEREAS, the use of loud, mechanized yard maintenance equipment has the potential to
interrupt sleep and enjoyment of one's yard, and
WHEREAS, residents who work may have no other time except weekends to take care of their
yards; and
WHEREAS, certain commercial grade equipment is often larger and louder than consumer grade
equipment, even when the engines are properly muffled; and
WHEREAS, mechanized leaf blowers have been shown to cause respiratory problems by blowing
dust and mold particles into the air, and
WHEREAS, mechanized leaf blowers make particularly annoying and penetrating sounds; and
WHEREAS, no economic harm to lawn services has been demonstrated in communities where
leaf blowers have been barmed outright.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED BY THE MAYOR AND CITY COMMISSION
OF THE CITY OF SOUTH MIAMI, FLORIDA:
Section 1. The City of South Miami's Code of Ordinances, Chapter 15, Artic\eill, Section
15-93 shall be amended and shall read as follows:
Sec. 15-93. -Noise-creating blowers, power mns, OF internol eombnstion engines tools,
machinery and equipment.
{ill It shall be unlawful to operate, or cause to be operated, any internal semBHstible engine SHeIi as
noise-creating tool, machinery and/or equipment, including blower§,---ef pewer fans, and
lawnmowers er any internal sembHstible engine, the eperatien ef which SaHses neises aHe te the
6l!fllesien ef sperating gases er flHias, HBless the neise Hem SHea blS'""er sr fan is mHfflea ana
SHea engine is eqllippea with a 1ffiIffler ae'!ise saffisient te aeaaen SHea neises, se that the same
saall net eaHse anneyanse te the pHblis er aistarb the rest ana 'l"iet ef !lemens resiaing er
eee"l'ying preperty near eneHgh therete te be anneyea by the Hn1ffilfflea blewer, fan er 6lrnanst ef
any SHea engine which harms the quality of life in residential neighborhoods by creating noise,
measured on a residential property, whenever it exceeds the dBA levels ("Noise Standard") for the
duration listed herein below and whether continuous or an individual sound that is repeated, such
as a hammer striking wood. or when the operation occurs during unpermitted days of the week or
hours of the day or night:
Cumulative Duration of the Intrusive Sound (dBA)
I. Cumulative period 000 minutes per hour 55
2. Cumulative period of 15 minutes per hour 60
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3. Cumulative period of 5 minutes per hour 65
4. Cumulative period of 1 minute per hour 70
5. Level not to be exceeded for any time per hour 75
If the constant ambient background noise, measured from the location where the
offensive noise is measured, is higher than the tabled maximum, then the ambient
background noise level measured immediately after the offending noise has ceased shall
be considered the maximum allowable noise, or Noise Standard, on that occasion. The
measurement shall be made at least seven (7) feet outside of the real property boundary
of the property on which such sound is detected, and approximately five (5) feet above
ground. In the case of an elevated or directional sound source, compliance with the
Noise Standards is to be maintained at any elevation at or beyond seven (7) feet outside
of the real property boundary of the property on which such sound is detected. Ambient
background noise, for the purposes of this ordinance, shall mean the sound that is
emanating on a consistent basis during the period of time when the offense is occurring
but does not include the offending noise as a component of the ambient noise. The term
"immediately after", for the purposes of this ordinance, shall mean within 10 minutes of
the cessation of the offending noise.
Oil It is unlawful to operate, or cause to be operated, any yard maintenance equipment
including lawn mowers, lawn edgers, weed trimmers, leaf blowers, chain saws, chippers, stump
grinders, pressure washers, compressors, out-of-doors except as provided below:
(1) Commercial operations are only permitted on weekdays from 8:00 a.m. until 6:00 p.m. and
on Saturdays after 9 am and until 2 pm. No operations are permitted at any time on Sundays and
any legal holidays.
(2) Non-commercial operations are only permitted on weekdays from 8:00 a.m. until 30 minutes
after sunset and on Saturdays, Sundays and any legal holiday from 9:00 a.m. until 30 minutes
after sunset.
. .,
(3) Use or operation during the prohibited times, set forth above, may be granted by obtaining
prior written permission of the head of the household, or his or her spouse, of each of the
occnpied residences located within 75 feet from where the work will occur (hereinafter referred
to as "Affected Property" in this subsection). Such permission may be rescinded if the head of a
household, or his or her spouse, of any of the Affected Properties, delivers to the occupier of the
property, and if unoccupied, to the owner, and also to the operator, by certified return receipt
mail, or an e-mail or similar communication whose receipt can be verified by an appropriate City
staff member, which shows evidence of delivery, or in any other manner that reasonably
establishes the date of such delivery, a written notice rescinding such previous permission.
Permission will be rescinded beginning on the seventh (7) calendar day following receipt of the
notice of rescission by the operator and by the occupier or owner. The date of receipt is counted
towards the calculation of the seven (7) days. The failure of the property owner or occupant of
the property on which the offense is being generated to have such proper, valid, written
permission from adjacent property owners, available for inspection by City personnel during the
use or operation of the equipment during otherwise unauthorized days and/or times shall be a
separate offense of this ordinance;
(4) Equipment used under an emergency condition is exempt from this ordinance, if the City
Manager determines that an emergency required the use of the equipment.
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{£) It shall be unlawful, to use, or cause to be operated, any equipment that in any way causes
particulate matter to blow or drift into an inhabited structure or more than five (5) feet onto or over
another residential property.
@ It shall be the responsibilitv of the owuer or occupant, as well as their agent, who hires another
person to perform any work on their property to insure that the person hired, including that person's
employees and subcontractors, does not violate this ordinance.
W The term "cause to be operated", as used in this ordinance, shall include the act of hiring
someone who violates this ordinance, whether the hiring is done by the owuer, occupier or by their
agent. The occupier of the property shall be deemed the agent of the owner for the pumoses of this
ordinance.
ill The Citv Manager or the manager's designee, or any Citv Code Enforcement Officer, shall
issue a written warning to the person or persons who have violated this ordinance, including the
operator and the hirer of the operator and the owuer of the property if he or she is different from the
person who personally hired the operator of the equipment. The word "operator", as used in this
ordinance, shall mean the owuer of the entity or the sole proprietor of the business that is hired and
that conducted the offense. The employee of the operator is exempt from the penalties of this section
unless the employee is also the owuer of or has any fmancial interest in the business.
{g} All persons who continue to violate this ordinance after receiving a written warning shall be
punished by the imposition, on each violator, of a fine in the amount of $250 for the first offense and
$500 for each succeeding offense. A succeeding offence include any activity that violates this
ordinance in any way, whether it is the same type of offence or a different offences in violation of this
ordinance.
Section 2. Codification. The provisions of this ordinance shall become and be made part of the
Code of Ordinances of the City of South Miami as amended; that the sections of this ordinance may be
renumbered or re-lettered to accomplish such intention; and that the word "ordinance" may be changed to
"section" or other appropriate word.
Section 3. Severability. If any section, clause, sentence, or phrase of this ordinance is for any
reason held invalid or unconstitutional by a court of competent jurisdiction, this holding shall not affect the
validity of the remaining portions of this ordinance.
Section 4. Ordinances in Conflict. All ordinances or parts of ordinances and all sections and
parts of sections of ordinances in direct conflict herewith are hereby repealed. However, it is not the intent
of this section to repeal entire ordinances, or parts of ordinances, that give the appearance of being in
conflict when the two ordinances can be harmonized or when only a portion of the ordinance in conflict
needs to be repealed to harmonize the ordinances. If the ordinance in conflict can be harmonized by
amending its terms, it is hereby amended to harmonize the two ordinances. Therefore, only that portion
that needs to be repealed to harmonize the two ordinances shall be repealed.
Section 5. Effective Date. This ordinance shall become effective upon enactment.
PASSED AND ENACTED this ~_day of _____ " 2015.
ATTEST: APPROVED:
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CITY CLERK
I" Reading
2nd Reading
READ AND APPROVED AS TO FORM:
LANGUAGE, LEGALITY AND
EXECUTION THEREOF
CITY ATTORNEY
MAYOR
COMMISSION VOTE:
Mayor Stoddard:
Vice Mayor Liebman:
Commissioner Edmond:
Commissioner Harris:
Commissioner Welsh:
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