Fellow Neighbors,

Please be advised that the Public Safety Committee (Commissioners Mastrodicasa, Hawkins, Poe) will be taking up the issue of nuisance noise from Koppers (and other commercial uses including Sam‘s) on Monday 8/25/08 .  The meeting is at 3:00 p.m. in Room 16 on the ground floor of City Hall.

This is a very important meeting, and has the potential to play heavily into to the future possible redevelopment of the Koppers site.  All interested parties should try to attend.

http://legistar.cityofgainesville.org/meetings/2008/8/8614_A_Public_Safety_Committee_08-08-25_Meeting_Agenda_(Long).pdf

The backup material that has been provided the PSC from GPD is at the bottom of the agenda.  It includes multiple references to letters, meetings, and complaints that I have already been a party to on this issue.

Below please find the letter that I will be submitting to the PSC presently.  I am currently working on a PowerPoint presentation for the meeting.

August 20, 2008

Re:       Nuisance Noise from Koppers/ Noise Ordinance

Members of the Public Safety Committee:

The Koppers compound shares a 3/4 mile boundary with the Stephen Foster neighborhood.  The quality of life of many neighborhood residents is being adversely impacted by nuisance noise from the operations at this facility on a chronic, daily basis--but the city is not enforcing the noise ordinance.

The high-pitched whine from the tree de-barker, the screeching from the cut-off saw, along with the crashes from the dumping of logs, are so loud that they can sometimes be clearly heard even from inside my house half a mile away.  Nuisance noise is also produced by chain saws, pneumatic and hydraulic equipment, and log-loaders.  Some days are worse than others, but the noise from continuously operating motorized equipment typically goes on 8 to 9 hours a day. 

The Code

Section 15-2. Definitions.

            Continuous airborne sound means sound that is measured by the slow-response setting of a                                     meter manufactured to the specifications of . . . .

            Noise means any sound which disturbs humans . . . or which causes or tends to cause an adverse                             psychological or physiological effect on humans . . .

            Noise disturbance means any sound which:

                        (1) Disturbs a reasonable person of normal sensitivities;

                        (2) Exceeds the sound level limits set forth in this chapter; or

                        (3) Is plainly audible as defined in this section.

            Plainly audible means any sound or noise

                        produced by any source,

                        or reproduced by a radio, tape player . . .

                        or other mechanical

                        or electronic soundmaking device  . . .

                        that can be clearly heard by a person using his/her normal hearing faculties, at a                                            distance of 200 feet or more from the real property line of the source of the sound or noise.

Section 15-3.  Prohibited acts.

            (a)  General prohibition.  It shall be unlawful and a violation of this chapter to make, cause or                                 allow the making of any sound or noise that causes a noise disturbance, as defined in section             15-2.

            (c)   Continuous airborne sound decibel limits.  No person shall create, operate or cause to be operated on private property any source of sound in such a manner as to  create a continuous airborne sound which exceeds the limits set forth for the  source land use category [( ] as defined in section 15-2 [ )] in Table II when measured at a distance of 200 feet or more from the real property line of the source of the sound. Any source of sound in violation of this subsection shall be deemed prima facie to be a noise disturbance. 

                        TABLE II. MAXIMUM SOUND LEVELS (IN dB(A)) FOR SOURCE LAND USES*

                                                            TABLE INSET:

            (d)   Specific prohibitions.  In addition to the general prohibitions set out in subsection (a), and                                 unless otherwise exempted by this chapter, the following specific acts, or the causing                                   or permitting thereof, are hereby regulated as follows:

                        (8)        “. . . No person shall operate or permit the operation of . . . continuously                                                       operating motorized equipment in such a manner so as to cause a noise                                                         disturbance.”

Non-Response to Complaints

When neighborhood residents make noise complaints, they are oftentimes first dismissed by the Communications Department, and then by GPD, if they manage to get that far.

Late last year I met with the area district captain (who has since left the department) to discuss the issue.  I was told that Koppers is a business, and that the decibel readings made near the site by one of his officers were less than 55 decibels--Koppers was therefore in compliance with the code, and GPD would therefore not issue citations.  As a decibel level reference point: I could produce the same noise from my house all night long that Koppers produces during the daytime, and I would still be in compliance with the decibel limits in the code (55 db limit for nighttime residential uses).

A follow-up letter dated 1-8-08 from GPD to Commissioner Jack Donovan states that in GPD’s opinion the noise from Koppers would not disturb a reasonable person of normal sensitivities, is in compliance with the decibel limits in the code, and that birds chirping and the traffic from NW 6^th Street are louder than the tree de-barker and the cut-off saw at Koppers.

A letter dated 6-2-08 from GPD to the city manager refers only to the decibel limits in the code in determining compliance.  It states that an officer took decibel readings at the site, found Koppers to be in compliance with the decibel limits in Table II, and recommends that the matter be closed.

Please see Section 15-3, Prohibited acts.  It states that “It shall be unlawful and a violation of this chapter to make, cause or allow the making of any sound or noise that causes a noise disturbance.”  The city appears to be using only definition (2) for noise disturbance (i.e. continuous airborne sound/decibel limit table II) to determine compliance with the code for commercial uses.  Please note that continuous airborne sound is simply sound that is measured with a meter.  The decibel limits in Table II apply to both commercial and residential sources, and in conjunction with all of the other noise disturbance definitions, and all of the other noise regulations in the code.

The city’s responses to complaints from residents essentially dismiss definition (1) of noise disturbance (i.e., disturbs a reasonable person) and totally ignore definition (3) (i.e., plainly audible standard/clearly heard 200 feet from the property line).  The city’s responses also totally ignore Section 15-3 (d) (8), which specifically prohibits the operation of continuously operating motorized equipment in such a manner so as to cause a noise disturbance.

Please see also Section 15-5, Measurement or assessment of sound (b) Assessment without sound level meter.  It states that “any police officer or other official . . . who hears a noise or sound that is plainly audible, as defined in section 15-2, in violation of this chapter, shall assess the noise or sound according to the following standards:  (1) The primary means of detection shall be by means of the official's normal hearing faculties . . . .”

The city appears to be picking and choosing different elements of the ordinance, and selectively enforcing those various elements depending upon whether the noise is from commercial or residential sources.

Noise generated 8 to 9 hours a day by a tree de-barker and a cut-off saw which is so loud that it is plainly audible over half a mile away is indeed the type of noise that causes or tends to cause adverse psychological effects on humans, adversely impacts the quality of life of nearby residents, disturbs a reasonable person of normal sensitivities, and is plainly audible 200 feet from the property line.

We ask the city to enforce the noise ordinance regarding nuisance noise from Koppers and issue citations until such time as Koppers is in compliance with the code.  If Koppers does not come into compliance as prescribed by the code, we ask that the facility be declared a public nuisance and the noise emitters be confiscated, as prescribed by the code.

Please reference attached Exhibit A (Excerpts from Noise Ordinance).

Also, please see attached Exhibit B (Petition to city to enforce noise ordinance regarding nuisance noise from Koppers).

Thank you for your attention to this matter.

Sincerely,

Robert Pearce

President, Stephen Foster Neighborhood Association