§ 21-56. Method of noise measurement.

Whenever portions of this chapter prohibit noise over a certain decibel limit, measurement of said noise shall be made with a decibel meter meeting the standards prescribed by the American National Standards Institute. The instruments shall be maintained in calibration and good working order. Calibration corrections shall be employed in meeting the response specifications prior to every sampling of noise. Measurements recorded shall be taken so as to provide a proper representation of the noise being measured. The microphone shall be positioned so as not to create any unnatural enhancement or diminution of the measured noise. A windscreen for the microphone shall be used. Traffic, aircraft and other transportation noise sources and other background noises shall not be considered in taking measurements except where such background noise interferes with the primary noise being measured. Times when the level of primary noise being measured does not exceed that of the background noise shall be considered as "off times" of the primary noise in determining the corrections from the correction table found in subsection 21-52(b). Except as provided in subsection 21-52(a)(12), measurements may be taken at a point on adjacent public or private property or on either side of an adjacent public right-of-way at or near the boundary line of the property where the noise is generated.

(Ord. No. 94706, § 2(Attach. A), 9-13-01)