It shall be unlawful to blast or cause to be blasted rocks, stumps, or other material without having the same covered in a good and sufficient manner as to prevent any fragment of rock or other material from ascending into the air and without having first obtained permission from the governing body, or blast without a sufficient guard to prevent damage or injury to any person or property.

(Code 1972, 17-16)

It shall be unlawful to act in a violent or turbulent manner at or in the public polls on election day, or engage in, aid or encourage the doing or causing to be done, anything calculated to disturb the due and orderly proceedings of any election board on the counting of the votes at any public election held in the city.

(Code 1972, 17-20)

(a)   No person operating or occupying a motor vehicle on a street, highway, alley, parking lot or driveway, whether public or private property, shall operate or pe1mit the operation of any sound amplification system from within the vehicle so that the sound is plainly audible at a distance of fifty or more feet from the vehicle.  

(b)   “Sound amplification system” means any radio, tape player, compact disc player, loud speaker, or other electronic device used for the amplification of sound.

(c)   “Plainly audible” means any sound produced by a sound amplification system from within the vehicle, which clearly can be heard at a distance of fifty feet or more. Measurement standards shall be by the auditory senses, based on direct line of sight. Words or phrases need not be discernible and bass reverberations are included. The motor vehicle may be stopped, standing, parked or moving on a street, highway, alley, parking lot, or driveway, on either public or private property.

(d)   It is an affirmative defense to a charge under this section that the operator was not otherwise prohibited by law from operating the sound amplification system, and that any of the following apply:

(1)   The system was being operated to request medical or vehicular assistance or to warn of a hazardous road condition;

(2)   The vehicle was an emergency or public safety vehicle;

(3)   The vehicle was owned and operated by the City of Sterling or a gas, electric, communications or refuse company; or

(4)   The system or vehicle was used in authorized public activities, such as parades, fireworks, sports events, musical productions, and other activities which have the approval of the Governing Body or a department of the city authorized to grant such approval.

(e)   Any person, individual, partnership, corporation or association who violates any of the provisions of this Section is guilty of a misdemeanor, and upon conviction, shall be punished as follows:

(1)   for a first offense, a fine of not less than Fifty Dollars ($50.00) nor more than Five Hundred Dollars ($500.00); and

(2)   for a second and subsequent offense in a calendar year, a fine of not less than One Hundred Dollars ($100.00) nor more than Seven Hundred Fifty Dollars ($750.00).

Each separate offense in violation hereof which is found to exist or continues to exist shall be a separate offense and punishable as such hereunder.

(Code 1972, 17-25; Ord. 2521)

(a)   Unreasonable Noise Prohibited. It is unlawful for any person to make or allow to be made, within the City limits of Sterling, Kansas any excessive, unnecessary, unusual, disturbing, or loud noise, which creates a nuisance or injuries or affects the comfort, health, or safety of others, or interferes with the use or enjoyment of property or any other person, unless the making of such noise is necessary for the protection and preservation of property or the health and safety of individuals in the City.

(b)   Noise Nuisances. The following acts, which enumeration shall not be deemed to be exclusive, are hereby declared to be noise nuisances and in violation of this ordinance.

(1)   The playing or permitting or causing the playing of any radio, television, phonograph, loudspeaker, drum, juke box, musical instrument, sound amplifier or similar devise which produces, reproduces, or amplifies sound when done in such a manner or with such volume, intensity, or with continued duration so as to annoy, to distress, or to disturb the quiet, comfort, or repose of any person or the peaceful enjoyment of property within the vicinity.

(2)   The use of any motor vehicle, of any kind, so out of repair, or in such manner as to create loud or unnecessary noise which may annoy, distress, or disturb the quiet comfort and peaceful enjoyment of any person within the vicinity.

(3)   The construction, excavation, demolition, alteration, or repair work of any building or other structure, by use of any power tool or power equipment used in construction, excavation, drilling, demolition, alteration or repair work, other than between the hours of 7:00 a.m. and 10:00 p.m.

(4)   Any loud, excessive, unnecessary, unusual, disturbing, or distressing noises, when produced that may be clearly heard from a distance of 50 feet or more. The measurement standard shall be the normal auditory senses, of a reasonable person (words or phrases need not be discernible).

(c)   Exceptions. The following activities, so long as they are conducted between 7:00 a.m. and 10:00 p.m., as a normal function of a permitted use, and the equipment used is maintained in proper working order, are excepted from the provisions of this section:

(1)   Lawn maintenance

(2)   Repair of personal use vehicles

(3)   Home repair

(4)   Temporary standby electrical generators

(5)   Noise created in the normal course of business by City of Sterling utilities and maintenance employees and by refuse collectors contracted by the City of Sterling.

(6)   Persons or organizations that have authorization from appropriate government officials for events and celebrations

(7)   Emergency vehicles and emergency work conducted by City of Sterling employees an any time of day.

(d)   Penalty. Any person who violates any of the provisions of this section within the corporate limits of the City of Sterling is guilty of a misdemeanor and upon conviction thereof shall be fined in an amount not to exceed Five Hundred Dollars ($500.00). Each day a violation is committed or permitted to continue shall constitute a separate offense.

(Code 1972, 17-26; Ord. 2521)

It shall be unlawful to shoot or otherwise propel an arrow by the use of a bow or any other means within the city, except the provisions of this section shall not apply to the shooting of a bow and arrow within any licensed shooting gallery that provides for the shooting of bows and arrows in such establishment.

(Ord. 2115, Sec. 2 (b))

It shall be unlawful to throw or bat any ball, stone or other hard substance into, on or across any street or alley or in any public place at or against any building or vehicle or at or toward any person or upon any street or public grounds of the city.

(Code 1972, 17-14)