Township Noise Ordinance

BUSHNELL TOWNSHIP ORDINANCE ANTI-NOISE AND PUBLIC NUISANCE ORDINANCE

Ordinance# 2024 0813 At a regular meeting of the Township Board of Bushnell Township, Montcalm County, Michigan, held at the Township Hall, on August 13, 2024, Township Board Member M.Fitzgerald made a motion to adopt this ordinance, which motion was seconded by Township Board Member K.Bliss An ordinance to secure the public health, safety and general welfare of the residents and property owners of BUSHNELL TOWNSHIP, Montcalm County, Michigan, by the regulation of notice within the Township, to prescribe the penalties for the violation thereof.

The TOWNSHIP OF BUSHNELL, Montcalm County, Michigan ordains:

SECTION 1. TITLE. This Ordinance shall be known and cited as the Township Anti-Noise and Public Nuisance Ordinance. SECTION 2. ANTI-NOISE REGULATIONS. General Regulation. No person, firm or corporation shall cause or create an unreasonable or unnecessarily loud noise or disturbance, injurious to the health, peace or quiet of the residents and property owners of the Township. "Unreasonable" shall be defined as sound exceeding that which is clearly audible within 250 feet of the source by involuntary listeners.

SPECIFIC VIOLATIONS. The following noises and disturbances are hereby declared to be violations of this Ordinance; provided, however, that the specifications of the same is not thereby to be construed to exclude other violations of this Ordinance not specifically enumerated.

A. The playing of any radio, phonograph, television or other electronic or mechanical sound producing device, including any musical instrument in such a manner or with such volume as to unreasonably upset or disturb the quiet, comfort or repose of other persons.

B. Yelling, shouting, hooting or singing on the public streets between the hours of 11:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m., or at any time or place so as to unreasonably upset or disturb the quiet, comfort or repose of any persons in the vicinity.

C. The emission or creation of any excessive noise which unreasonably interferes with the operation of any school, church, hospital, or court.

SECTION 3. EXCEPTIONS. BUSHNELL TOWNSHIP is primarily a rural, agricultural township. Excepted from the provisions of this Anti-Noise and Public Nuisance Ordinance are the usual farming noises, such as, but not restricted to, irrigation, ground preparation such as plowing and disking, planting and harvesting, and other related tractor and machinery operation noises, which includes construction, mining, airplane spraying and fertilizing etc., this also includes normal livestock farm sounds, commercial wind farms, and commercial solar farms.

SECTION 4. VALIDITY. The several provisions of this Ordinance are declared to be separate; if any court of law shall hold that any section or provision here of is invalid, such holding shall not affect or impair the validity of any other section or provision of this Ordinance.

SECTION 5. PENALTIES. Any person, firm or corporation found violating the provisions of this Ordinance shall, upon conviction, this will be a civil infraction punishable by a fine not to exceed TWO HUNDRED AND FIFTY DOLLARS ($250.00) for a first offense or a fine not to exceed FIVE HUNDRED DOLLARS ($500.00) for a second or subsequent offense. Each day that a violation continues shall constitute a separate offense. Provisions of this ordinance may also be enforced by a suit for injunction, damages, or other appropriate legal action.

SECTION 6. EFFECTIVE DATE. This Ordinance shall take effect 30 days after publication in the local newspaper and Township's website. Violations of this Ordinance are to be reported to the Montcalm County Sheriff's Department or Central Dispatch at (989) 831-5253.