Jersey City City Councilman Rich Boggiano

Councilman Rich Boggiano is hopefully not talking too loudly on his phone or else he would be violating his own proposed ban on noise pollution. Alyssa Ki | The Jersey Journal

(Jersey Journal file photo)

A Jersey City councilman wants you to cut out that racket!

Rich Boggiano, who represents Ward C on the City Council, has proposed a new law that he hopes will bring more peace and quiet to city neighborhoods. The measure, up for final adoption at tomorrow's council meeting, would implement decibel caps on noise coming from residential and commercial properties.

The measure (Ord. 16.027) would also ban certain activities during evening and overnight hours. Use of power tools, for example, would be prohibited between 8 p.m. and 8 a.m., and unnecessary car honking would be a no-no. Violators could be hit with fines of up to $3,000.

"It's getting to be out of hand," Boggiano said, referencing noise from the construction of the tower going up in Journal Square. "It's about time we started worrying about the neighborhood and people who live here in Jersey City."

The measure up for approval tomorrow would replace an older noise control law already on the books, adding some provisions and removing others.

Maximum decibel levels for residential properties -- as measured from the property line -- would be capped between 8 a.m. and 10 p.m. at 65 decibels, which is softer than a vacuum cleaner, and between 10 p.m. and 8 a.m. at 50 decibels, which is comparative to normal conversation inside a home.

All construction work would be limited to between 8 a.m. and 6 p.m. on weekdays (current law permits start at 7 a.m.), and banned on weekends and federal holidays without approval from construction code officials who have reviewed a noise mitigation plan. Snowblowers would require a muffler or sound reduction device. You would only be able to honk your car horn "as a warning in situations of imminent danger."

Also: "vocalizing (howling, yelping, barking, squawking, etc.) for five (5) straight minutes without interruption" by any animal would be forbidden, as would ice cream trucks playing jingles unless the trucks are moving.

The state requires municipalities that seek to enact noise ordinance to adopt one written by the state. More than seven dozen municipalities in the state have adopted noise control ordinances, according to the state Department of Environmental Protection.

Violations of the law would be enforced by a noise control officer. It's not clear whether the city would have to hire someone for that job or whether a current worker would be assigned noise control duty.

Boggiano said residents can trust that the laws would be enforced as long as he is on the council.

"I'm going to make sure that these people enforce the laws," he said.

The council meets tomorrow at 6 p.m. at City Hall, 280 Grove St.

Terrence T. McDonald may be reached at tmcdonald@jjournal.com. Follow him on Twitter @terrencemcd. Find The Jersey Journal on Facebook.