An Overview on The Issue of Noise

• Ideas of What To Do If Stopped By An Irate Citizen
• Ideas of What To Do If Stopped By An Officer
• Complying With Noise Ordinances
• Advance Steps To Consider So You Won't Be Impacted By Noise Ordinances
• How To Reduce Your Noise Impact

By far the regulations which are most common to the sweeping industry involve noise. Although these commonly have been enacted as a deterrent to other types of equipment, most notably garbage trucks and backpack blowers, any noise ordinances in place are also brought to bear on sweepers.

It doesn't take a noise ordinance to have an impact on your business hours. Many contractors have had to modify their sweeping hours and/or route to accommodate someone who has complained to the mall manager about late night noise. As a result, we will discuss the problem of noise in terms of ordinance compliance and also as the result of complaint.

There are very few common threads in where and how noise statutes are developed. There is no federal statute for noise disturbance levels made by a sweeper. As a result, local ordinances have been enacted in some places. Unfortunately, these vary widely and are often poorly defined and intermittently enforced, but you should certainly be familiar with any which are in force in your sweeping area. Often, even in areas where no actual noise ordinance exists, officers can find a way to enforce their will. This is usually done by citing for disturbance of the peace. Disturbance is a catch-all type of law which allows wide police discretion in its application. It also can be difficult to beat, since if a citizen complained that they were disturbed, then it's relatively easy to develop a case for that type of citation.

If there is a noise statute in one of the counties or municipalities in which you operate, you may want to have the noise levels of your truck(s) tested as a precaution.

As a customer service, Schwarze Industries provides a statement of average noise level with each of its new units. Although this won't show the noise output of your particular truck, it does show what the average is for your make and model. This can prove helpful in the event you are stopped an irate citizen, or by a patrolman who is responding to a noise complaint or stopping you to enforce a noise ordinance.

Ideas of What To Do If Stopped By An Irate Citizen

If the situation is that one of your drivers is accosted by an irate citizen, most contractors instruct their drivers to request the name, address and phone number of the person who is registering the complaint, and then to just leave the area. It is usually better to have the situation investigated by the light of day, rather than risk any kind of confrontation at the scene. Operators have had people go to great lengths to stop them, including parking directly in front of their moving sweeper.

On the other hand, if you are driving you may choose an alternate course of action, depending upon your analysis of the situation. If you are comfortable that the complainant is out of line, given the ordinances and their enforcement in that governmental district, you may choose to continue sweeping. Still, you want to take no action which will incite someone to start writing letters and/or phoning to city hall or your client.

Be flexible and creative in finding ways to...

If the authorities are called and rule against you, the problem of keeping the area clean will fall back into the client's lap. And, if adjustments must be made in your sweeping routine there may be increased costs to the client. As a result, they should be willing to absorb some of the cost and inconvenience of keeping the property's neighbors happy.

We know of several instances in which a lone citizen complaint ended up having a relatively large impact, even though there was no ordinance on the books at all. For that reason alone, it is much better to...

If the complaint is made to your client, we suggest that you...

In your meeting, first explain that you have every right to be there sweeping, since it is a commercial area. Then go on to assure them that...

Ideas of What To Do If Stopped By An Officer

If you are accosted by a police officer because of an existing noise ordinance...

If you are ticketed, you usually will not want to just pay the fine simply on the basis of a complaint having been lodged. In most areas which have a decibel level ordinance, the noise level must be measured according to the parameters set up by the wording of the ordinance. Furthermore, the check must be done by a decibel meter which can be proven to be in calibration, much as is required for radar devices.

Typically, noise level checks are performed at either a prescribed distance from the sweeper or from the place of the complaint. Very few, if any, ordinances are written which call for measuring the noise level right at the sweeper.

Noise level drops off quickly with distance, so the point from which it is measured is quite critical. For example...

Complying With Noise Ordinances

A Historical Overview

Since sweeping is done primarily at night, the general public is woefully uninformed of sweeping's positive impact, from environmental, sanitation or cosmetic viewpoints. Even the county commissioners, city council members and others who design ordinances regulating nighttime noise are largely unaware of how much sweeping does to keep cities clean, or why most of this work needs to be performed at night.

More and more, shopping centers are being built in what have until now been strictly residential areas. As this continues, the incidence of complaints about noise will unquestionably rise. Until and unless lawmakers become well informed, such complaints can have a disastrous effect. In fact, noise ordinances are now often seen as 'safe' laws to propose, since lawmakers are seldom aware they will be affecting a segment of the business community.

Usually, however, any noise ordinance will not have been passed originally to deal with night time sweeper operation. The reason; most cities operate their own street sweeping fleet at night. If they passed an ordinance against sweeper noise, they would be affecting their own internal interests. As a result of this, you may find that you can argue that you are providing just as necessary service as street sweepers, only doing so in the private sector instead of the public sector. Following is more information on this topic which you may find helpful:

Noise According To The EPA

Fred Mintz, Staff Consultant on Noise at the Environmental Protection Agency, offered this information on the topic of sweeper noise: There is no federal statute for noise disturbance levels made by a sweeper. This means that state or local ordinances define allowable limits, and these may vary widely. State rulings can be found by calling your Department of Environmental Quality or Department of Health. For local ordinances, contact your local city and/or county government.

How is noise measured? The standard noise unit is the decibel (dB). (For an in-depth discussion of relative decibel levels and how decibels are measured, including why the 'B' of 'dB' is always capitalized.

Generally speaking, however, if a sleeping person is exposed to 45 to 50 dB, there is a good likelihood they will awaken. This is the noise level which typically elicits complaints at night. However, remember that...

For an EPA pamphlet which further explains noise measurement procedures, write to Fred Mintz, Office of Federal Activities, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, D.C. 20460.

Advance Steps to Consider so You Won't be Impacted by Noise Ordinances

Here are some pro-active steps you can take to make sure your business isn't caught unaware:

Get informed about current noise ordinances in any cities where you sweep. Also find out what, if any, steps are currently being taken to develop new rulings of this type. If there is an ordinance:

Find out why the ordinance was enacted in the first place. This information will probably be available, if you do some digging around in the archives of the legislative body who passed it into law. Often, the original intent will be found to have nothing to do with sweepers, for example garbage trucks, or will deal with a side item to sweeping such as backpack blowers.

Because of their high rpm motors, backpacks (also called 'power blowers') have been legislated quite heavily in some areas of the country, particularly California. They also are a major cause of noise complaints, more so than sweepers. In the event that the complaint or the ordinance centers around the use of a backpack blower, there are several resources you may choose to investigate.

One is the Portable Power Equipment Manufacturers Association of Bethesda, MD. This is the trade association for power blower manufacturers, and they should be able to provide you with information helpful to your cause. Their number is 301-652-0774, or you can fax them at 301-654-6138.

One power blower manufacturer in particular, Echo, Inc., is at the forefront of assisting with helping backpack blower users effectively fight legislation aimed at curbing use of the machines. They are located in Lake Zurich, IL; call 708-540-8400.

The manufacturer of your particular blower will probably also be able to provide you with the typical decibel output of the machine. Also, for more information about using a backpack blower correctly, see the section entitled Safe And Efficient Back-Pack Blower Operation, located in the Tricks Of The Trade section.

Get on the right mailing lists. Most of the time, you can be placed onto the appropriate decision-makers' mailing lists just by asking. From there it's up to you to keep up with the issues being discussed. Surprisingly often, the idea of an ordinance is started because of just one or a few complaints, and these are often the result of garbage trucks, boom boxes, emergency vehicles, etc., not sweepers. If an overly restrictive noise ordinance is proposed...(four more listed in actual book).

How To Reduce Your Noise Impact

If noise is a problem in your area, be sure to discuss your concerns with your sweeper sales representative. There are many creative solutions available for this particular sweeping concern. Usually one, or a combination, of the following ideas will solve your noise complaint problems:

• More complaints are received in the summer (or in hotter climates, fall and spring) when people are leaving their windows open. In the summer, perhaps you can sweep the lots you have in residential areas early in the evening, before most people go to bed.You may need to adapt your schedule during those months, then return to a more efficient schedule for the rest of the year.
• Other times you can solve the problem by...
• Noise level is highly dependent upon the rpm of your auxiliary engine, so another thing to try is lowering the rpm level on your auxiliary engine. Although you might be forced to sweep at a slower pace in that area, that's not a bad compromise.
• Sometimes worn flaps or intake seals may force you to run with a fuller throttle than necessary, resulting in more noise. Because the change in noise level occurs so slowly, it can sometimes be difficult to recognize that your sweeper is actually in need of repair. If normal wear items such as mufflers, flaps, hoses and seals are in disrepair you can...
• If your sweeper is well maintained, you will be able to...
• Push-type blowers with quieter 4-cycle engines have more power, however, because of their size, sometimes they create storage and/or maneuverability problems.
• Maintain good public relations. Work closely with public officials. Consider requesting...
• Often the problem is at the back of a lot, near the rear wall. If this is the case, negotiate...
• Ask your sweeper sales representative about outfitting your sweeper with a noise shroud. This is an insulation and metal covering which surrounds the auxiliary engine, and cuts noise level dramatically. In most instances, contractors have found that equipping their sweeper with a shroud will reduce the noise level enough to stop complaints.

Surprisingly, complaints often are actually centered around the flashing light bar. People see the light flashing in their window and then are bothered by the noise. Negotiating not to use your light bar near a complainant's house will sometimes be all it takes.

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