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Home My WebLink AboutLegislation SR (02.26.15)City of Miami Legislation Ordinance City Hall 3500 Pan American Drive Miami, FL 33133 www.miamigov.com File Number: 14-01319 Final Action Date: AN ORDINANCE OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION AMENDING CHAPTER 36 OF THE CODE OF THE CITY OF MIAMI, FLORIDA, AS AMENDED, ENTITLED "NOISE," MORE PARTICULARLY BY AMENDING SECTION 36, ENTITLED "CONSTRUCTION EQUIPMENT," BY AMENDING SECTION 36-6(B) TO ADD DEFINITIONS FOR CONSTRUCTION NOISE WAIVER AND CONSTRUCTION. NOISE WAIVER APPLICATION; BY AMENDING SECTION 36-6(C) TO PROVIDE FOR THE CITY MANAGER TO SELECT A DESIGNEE AND TO PROVIDE AN APPLICATION DEADLINE, NOTICE REQUIREMENTS, AN APPLICATION FEE, AND A MAXIMUM TIME FRAME FOR THE WAIVER; CONTAINING A SEVERABILITY CLAUSE AND PROVIDING FOR AN EFFECTIVE DATE. WHEREAS, Section 36-6 of the Code of the City of Miami, Florida, as amended ("City Code"), prohibits the use of certain construction equipment between the hours of 6:00 p.m. and 8:00 a.m. the following day; and WHEREAS, the use of construction equipment during the prohibited hours may be necessary to eliminate or reduce any dangerous or hazardous condition which endangers life or property; and WHEREAS, Section 36-6(c) of the City Code currently grants the City Manager the authority to permit the use of construction equipment during the prohibited time periods; and WHEREAS, the City of Miami has seen increased construction in recent years and, as a result, an increase in the number of requests for noise waivers; and WHEREAS, the City Code should be amended to allow the City Manager to select a designee to authorize the use of construction equipment during the prohibited hours; and WHEREAS, the City Code should be amended to provide for a time for the City Manager or his designee to review the application, to require the applicant to notice the adjacent property owners, to provide for an application fee, and to provide a time period for which a waiver may be granted; NOW THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED BY THE COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF MIAMI, FLORIDA: Section 1. The recitals and findings contained in the Preamble to this Ordinance are adopted by reference and incorporated as fully set forth in this Section. Section 2. Chapter 36 of the City Code, entitled "Noise," is amended in the following particulars:{1} "CHAPTER 36 NOISE City of Miami Page 1 of 4 File Id: 14-01319 (Version: 2) Printed On: 2/9/2015 File Number: 14-01319 * * * Sec. 36-6. Construction equipment (a) Prohibition; definitions. Operating or permitting the operation of any tools or equipment used in construction, drilling, or demolition work such as pile drivers, steam shovels, pneumatic hammers, pumps, or other like equipment is prohibited: (1) Between the hours of 6:00 p.m. and 8:00 a.m. the following day on weekdays, or at any time on Sundays or holidays, such that the sound therefrom creates a noise disturbance across and at a residential district boundary or within a noise sensitive zone, except for emergency work of public service utilities or by special permission issued pursuant to subsection (c). (2) At any other time such that the sound level at or across a real property boundary exceeds a reading of 0.79 weighted average dBA for the daily period of operation. Such sound levels shall be measured with a sound level meter manufactured according to standards prescribed by the American National Standards Institute. (b) Definitions. Construction Noise Waiver, as used herein, shall mean the authorization by the City Manager or his designee to permit the operation and use of construction equipment during the prohibited periods of time. Construction Noise Waiver Application, as used herein, shall mean the application submitted by the applicant requesting the authorization to operate construction equipment during the prohibited periods of time. Holidays, as used herein, shall mean those days designated by the United States Congress as legal public holidays, except that whenever any such day shall fall upon a Sunday, the Monday next following shall be deemed a public holiday for purposes of this section. Noise disturbance as used herein, shall mean any sound which (a) endangers or injures the safety or health of humans or animals, or (b) annoys or disturbs a reasonable person of normal sensitivities, or (c) endangers or injures personal or real property. Noise sensitive zone, as used herein, shall mean existing quiet zones, if any, and those areas containing noise sensitive activities including, but not limited to, operations of schools, libraries open to the public, houses of worship, hospitals, and nursing homes. Residential districts, as used herein, shall mean any residential district as set forth in the city's zoning ordinance, as amended, or as may be hereafter amended. Weighted average dBA, as used herein, means the 24-hour energy average of the sound pressure level in decibels (dB), as measured on a sound level meter using the A -weighted network; any readings taken during the period 10:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m. the following day are increased by ten dBA before averaging the other readings. The A -weighted network (dBA) is recommended by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency as a means of describing environmental noise because it most closely mimics the human ear by weighting the frequency spectrum to give greater weight to the frequencies between 1,000 and 6,000 hertz (cycles per City of Miami Page 2 of 4 File Id: 14-01319 (Version: 2) Printed On: 2/9/2015 File Number: 14-01319 second) (c) Exception. The city manager, or his designee, is hereby authorized to permit the operation and use of any of the above construction machinery during the aforesaid prohibited periods of time in the event that such operation or use is required to eliminate or reduce any dangerous or hazardous condition which endangers life or property. (1) An applicant requesting a Construction Noise Waiver must submit the Construction Noise Waiver Application at least five (5) business days prior to the date of operation. Prior to the time the Construction Noise Waiver Application is submitted to the City Manager or his designee, the applicant must notice all abutting property owners, by certified mail, of the intent to operate construction equipment during the prohibited periods of time. The certified mail receipts must be attached to the application. If a condominium is abutting the property, notice shall be provided to the condominium association by certified mail. a) Any person or persons noticed above, who object to the granting of the Construction Noise Waiver, shall file a written objection with the City Manager, or his designee, within the five (5j day application period. (4) The Construction Noise Waiver Application shall have a fee of $75.00, payable at the time the application is submitted. (5) If the City Manager or his designee authorizes the Construction Noise Waiver, said waiver may be issued for up to a thirty (30) day period. (d) Violation; penalty. Any person who shall violate any provision of this section shall, upon conviction thereof, be punished as provided in section 1-13. Each 24 -hour day is to be considered a separate violation. Section 3. If any section, part of a section, paragraph, clause, phrase or word of this Ordinance is declared invalid, the remaining provision of this Ordinance shall not be affected, Section 4. This Ordinance shall become effective immediateiy after final reading and adoption thereof.{2} APP'OVEDi S TO FORM A D CORRECTNESS: VI (' ORIA M NDEZ CITY ATTORNEY Footnotes: City of Miami Page 3 of 4 File Id: 14-01319 (Version: 2) Printed On: 2/9/2015 File Number: 14-01319 {1} Words and/or figures stricken through shall be deleted. Underscored words and/or figures shall be added. The remaining provisions are now in effect and remain unchanged. Asterisks indicate omitted and unchanged material. {2} This Ordinance shall become effective as specified herein unless vetoed by the Mayor within ten (10) days from the date it was passed and adopted. If the Mayor vetoes this Ordinance, it shall become effective immediately upon override of the veto by the City Commission. City of Miami Page 4 of 4 File Id: 14-01319 (Version: 2) Printed On: 2/9/2015