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A. General Prohibitions. It shall be unlawful for any person to make, continue, or cause to be made or continued any noise disturbance. It shall be unlawful for any person to make, continue, or cause to be made or continued any noise which exceeds the maximum permissible noise levels specified in LMC 10.12.500 and 10.12.600 within the limits of the city of Lynnwood.

B. Specific Prohibitions. The following acts, among others, are declared to be noise disturbance in violation of the ordinance codified in this chapter, but the enumeration shall not be deemed exclusive, namely:

1. The sounding of any horn or signaling device on any automobile, truck, motorcycle, transit vehicle or other vehicle on any public street or public place of the city, except as a necessary warning of danger to person or property, the creation by means of any such signaling device of any unreasonably loud or harsh sound, and the sounding of any such device for an unnecessary and unreasonable period of time;

2. The use of any automobile, truck, motorcycle, transit vehicle, or other vehicle, or engine, either stationary or moving, or any instrument, device or thing so out of repair, so loaded, or in such manner as to create loud and unnecessary grating, squealing, grinding, rattling or other noise;

3. Repairing, rebuilding, modifying, or testing any motor vehicle, motorcycle or off-road vehicle, in or near a residential use district in such a manner as to cause noise disturbance or violate the provisions of LMC 10.12.600;

4. To discharge into the open air the exhaust of any steam engine, stationary internal combustion engine or motor vehicle, except through a muffler or other device which will effectively reduce loud or explosive noises therefrom;

5. No person shall operate or permit the operation of any motor vehicle with a gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR) in excess of 10,000 pounds, or any auxiliary equipment attached to such a vehicle, for a period longer than 10 minutes in any hour while the vehicle is stationary, for reasons other than traffic congestion, within 150 feet of a residential zone or designated noise sensitive area, between the hours of 10:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m. the following day;

6. Creating any unnecessary or unusually loud noise within the vicinity of any school or other institution of learning, hospital, nursing home, court, church or other designated area where exceptional quiet is necessary, while the same are in use, provided conspicuous signs are displayed in adjacent or contiguous streets, indicating that the same is a noise sensitive area;

7. Yelling, shouting, hooting, whistling or singing, particularly between the hours of 10:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m. or at any time and place so as to disturb the quiet, comfort and repose of any person in any hospital, rest home, sanitarium, dwelling, hotel, motel or other type of residence;

8. Owning, keeping, possessing, or harboring any animal which by frequent or habitual howling, barking, or other noisemaking, causes noise disturbance. The provisions of this section shall also apply to all private or public facilities, including any animal pounds, which hold or treat animals;

9. The use, operation, or permitting to be used, played or operated any radio receiving set, musical instrument, phonograph, or other machine or device for the producing or reproducing of sound in such manner as to unreasonably disturb the peace, quiet and comfort of the neighboring inhabitants or at any time with louder volume than is necessary for convenient hearing for the person or persons who are in the room, vehicle or chamber in which such machine or device is operated and who are voluntary listeners thereto. The operation of any such set, instrument, phonograph, machine or device in such a manner as to be plainly audible at a distance of 50 feet from the building, structure or vehicle in which it is located shall be prima facie evidence of a violation of this section;

10. Operating or permitting the operation of any mechanically powered saw, drill, sander, grinder, lawn or garden tool, or fan or blower, or similar device used outdoors in residential areas between the hours of 10:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m. the following day so as to cause a noise disturbance across a residential real property boundary;

11. Operating or permitting the operation of powered model vehicles so as to create a noise disturbance across a residential real property boundary, in a public space or within a noise sensitive area between the hours of 10:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m. the following day. Maximum sound levels in a public space during the permitted period of operation shall conform to those set forth for residential land use in Table I of LMC 10.12.500 and shall be measured at a distance of 50 feet from any point on the path of the vehicle;

12. The creation of loud and excessive noises in connection with loading or unloading any vehicle, or the opening or destruction of bales, boxes and containers;

13. The erection, including excavation, demolition, alteration or repair of any building, in a residential, apartment, hotel or business district other than between the hours of 7:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m. on weekdays, except in case of urgent necessity in the interest of public safety and convenience, and then only under approval from the office of the mayor. Said weekend work approval to be submitted to the department of public works for processing as required by LMC 2.44.040;

14. The use of hand or power tools, blowers, or machinery or the handling of materials which results in unreasonably loud and disturbing noises. The operation of such machine, device, or tool, or the handling of materials in such a manner as to be plainly audible at a distance of 50 feet from the building, structure, vehicle, or location in which it is located shall be prima facie evidence of a violation of this section.

Provided, that the foregoing enumeration of acts shall not be construed as excluding other acts which offend the public peace in contradiction of subsection (A) of this section.

C. Exceptions. None of the terms or prohibitions contained in subsection (B) of this section shall apply or be enforced against any vehicle of the city of Lynnwood while engaged in necessary public business. These terms or prohibitions shall not apply or be enforced against any excavations or repairs of bridges, utilities, streets or highways performed by or on behalf of the city of Lynnwood, Snohomish County, or state of Washington.

D. Use of Loudspeakers. The reasonable use of loudspeaker or amplifier is permitted; provided, that no loudspeaker or amplifier shall be used in residential-zoned districts; and provided, that no person shall use any loudspeaker, amplifier, or similar device which shall project sound above the ambient level beyond the property lines of the premises upon which it is being used without first obtaining a permit from the office of the mayor to do so. In issuing a permit, the office of the mayor may impose such restrictions on time, area and volume as are necessary to preserve the public peace and safety. (Ord. 2076 § 1, 1996; Ord. 1386 § 2, 1983; Ord. 1275 § 1, 1982)