§ 462.302. Noise.

(a)

It shall be unlawful for the owner, or any person having temporary custody, of an animal or animals to allow or fail to restrain the animal(s), to bark, meow, whine, howl, or to make other sounds common to the species, persistently or continuously for a period of 20 minutes or longer when every animal is not contained within an enclosure sufficient to baffle loud noises and render them reasonably unobjectionable. For the purposes of this Section, persistently or continuously shall mean nonstop utterances for 20 consecutive minutes with individual interruptions of less than 20 seconds at a time during the 20 minute utterances. This subsection shall not apply to animals maintained on land zoned for agricultural purposes, nor shall it apply to a properly permitted animal shelter established for the care and/or placement of unwanted or stray animals, nor a properly zoned commercial boarding kennel or other animal facility.

(b)

A violation of this Section shall subject the violator to a civil fine of not less than the amount designated in Chapter 462, Part 18. Each separate occasion is considered a separate violation. The animal control officer may cite the owner or custodian of the animal(s) for violation of such Section when either the animal control officer has received, from at least two unrelated adult witnesses from different residences, or from one adult witness with a recorded video showing the alleged violation, a sworn affidavit attesting to the committing of a nuisance pursuant to such Section or subsection, or the citing animal control officer has witnessed the commission of such a nuisance. Affidavit(s) attesting to the nuisance must come from residents within a three-block radius (approximately 900- foot radius).

(c)

As authorized by F. S. § 828.27(7), a violation of the noise provision of this Section may be punishable, upon conviction by the court, by a fine of up to $500 or by imprisonment in the County Jail for a period not to exceed 60 days or by both fine and imprisonment.

(Ord. 2004-259-E, § 1; Ord. 2010-527-E, § 4; Ord. 2016-405-E , § 1)