§ 41A-4. Definitions.

The following words, phrases and terms as used in this chapter shall have the following meanings:

"Ambient noise level" means the all-encompassing noise level associated with a given environment, being a composite of sounds from all sources, excluding the alleged offensive noise, at the location and approximate time at which a comparison with the alleged offensive noise is to be made.

"County" means the unincorporated area of the County of Butte.

"Decibel" or "dB" means a unit used to express the relative intensity of a sound as it is heard by the human ear. The lowest volume a normal ear can detect under laboratory conditions is zero (0) dB, the threshold of human hearing. Since the decibel scale is logarithmic, ten (10) decibels are ten (10) times more intense and twenty (20) decibels are a hundred (100) times more intense than one (1) db.

"Emergency work" means the use of any machinery, equipment, vehicle, manpower or other activity in an effort to protect, maintain, provide or restore safe conditions in the community or for citizenry, or work by private or public utilities when restoring utility service.

"Impulsive noise" means a noise characterized by sound pressures whose peak levels are very much greater than the ambient noise level, such as might be produced by the impact of a pile driver, punch press or a drop hammer, typically with one (1) second or less duration.

"Leq" or "Equivalent Sound Level" means the average of sound energy occurring over a specified period. The Leq is equivalent to the same average acoustical energy as the time-varying sound that actually occurs during a specified period.

"Noise level" means the "A" weighted sound pressure level in decibels obtained by using a sound level meter at slow response with a reference pressure of twenty (20) micropascals. A fast meter response shall be used for impulsive noise. The unit of measurement shall be designated as "dBA."

"Noise Sensitive Area" means the part of the property where noise sensitivity exists. For example, the parking lot of a movie theater or office building is not considered noise sensitive, but the interior areas of the theaters and office are considered noise sensitive.

"Non-Urban designations" are the Agriculture (AG), Timber Mountain (TM), Resource Conservation (RC), Foothill Residential (FR), and Rural Residential (RR) General Plan designations. All other General Plan designations are considered "Urban Designations".

"Off-Road Vehicles" are vehicles operated in areas other than public roadways or right-of-way.

"Person" means a person, firm, association, co-partnership, joint venture, corporation, or any entity, public or private in nature.

"Residential property" means a parcel of real property which is developed and used either in part or in whole for residential purposes, other than transient uses such as hotels and motels.

"Simple tone noise" or "pure tone noise" means a noise characterized by the presence of a predominant frequency or frequencies such as might be produced by whistle, squeal, screech, or hum, for example.

"Sound level meter" means an instrument meeting American National Standard Institute (ANSI) Standard S1.4-1971 for Type 2 sound level meters that is calibrated utilizing an acoustical calibrator meeting American National Standards Institute (ANSI) Type 2 standard, performed immediately prior to recording any sound data. Calibration equipment shall be certified annually.

"Sound pressure level" means a sound pressure level of a sound, in decibels, as defined in ANSI Standards 51.2-1962 and 51.13-1921. It is computed as ten (10) times the logarithm of the source sound pressure divided by a reference sound pressure.

"Zoning" or "Zones" means any of the zones specified in Part 1, Article 3, Table 24-11-1, Base Zones of the Butte County Zoning Ordinance as such zones are presently identified therein and as they may be subsequently modified or altered.

(Ord. No. 4053, § 1, 3-26-13)