Turning up the music at a backyard gathering, testing a powerful car stereo or using outdoor speakers may seem harmless, but Crandall’s noise ordinance places limits on sound that travels beyond the property where it originates.
The ordinance does not apply only late at night. Excessive music, amplified sound, construction activity, vehicle noise, barking animals and other disturbances may violate city law during the daytime as well.
Crandall’s stated goal is to protect residents’ health, comfort, safety, sleep and ability to enjoy their homes while allowing reasonable business, construction and community activities.
Loud music can violate the ordinance at any hour
Crandall prohibits unreasonably loud, disturbing, irritating or raucous noise originating from nearby property when it causes material distress, discomfort or injury to an ordinary person.
That means a resident does not have an unrestricted right to play loud music until a particular nighttime cutoff.
Music from a radio, stereo, television, amplifier, outdoor speaker, musical instrument or another sound-producing device may be considered a nuisance when its volume disturbs the quiet, comfort or rest of people inside a house, apartment, hotel or other residence.
The ordinance applies to sound generated on both private and public property.
Crandall uses property-line sound limits
The city establishes different sound levels for daytime and nighttime hours.
Noise exceeding 80 decibels between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. may be considered a violation when it can be measured with a calibrated decibel meter beyond the property line where the sound originates.
The nighttime limit is lower. Noise exceeding 75 decibels between 7 p.m. and 7 a.m. may be considered disruptive when measured beyond the property line.
These standards are not necessarily permission to produce every sound below the stated limits. The ordinance separately prohibits noise that unreasonably disturbs nearby residents, even when a publicly available report does not show that officers took a decibel reading.
Bass and vibration can create a separate violation
Heavy bass may affect neighboring homes even when the music itself does not seem especially loud at its source.
Crandall prohibits residents and businesses from creating or maintaining ground or airborne vibrations that can be felt without instruments on adjoining or nearby property.
A stereo system that causes windows, walls, floors or household objects to vibrate in another home could therefore create an enforcement issue in addition to the volume of the music.
Lowering only the treble or closing a vehicle’s windows may not solve the problem when powerful bass continues to travel beyond the property.
Outdoor speakers are covered
Stationary loudspeakers and sound amplifiers may not be operated at an intensity that disturbs people living or working nearby.
The rule can apply to permanently installed patio speakers, portable public-address systems, sound equipment used during parties and amplified announcements outside a business.
Using a speaker for a private celebration does not automatically exempt the sound from the ordinance.
Residents hosting an outdoor gathering should position speakers away from neighboring homes, keep bass at a reasonable level and reduce the volume before complaints develop.
Car stereos are not exempt
The ordinance’s restrictions on sound-producing equipment extend to devices operated on public or private property. A vehicle parked in a driveway, parking lot or street does not provide an exception for amplified music.
A car stereo may create a violation when it disturbs residents or exceeds the applicable sound level beyond the property where the vehicle is located.
Crandall also prohibits excessive vehicle-related noise such as the unnecessary or prolonged use of horns and the operation of engines without effective mufflers.
Motorcycles, cars, trucks, boats and stationary engines must use equipment that prevents loud or explosive exhaust noise.
Construction hours are restricted
Construction and construction-related activity generally may not occur between 7 p.m. and 7 a.m. on weekdays.
On weekends, prohibited hours generally run from 7 p.m. until 8 a.m.
The restriction applies to construction, excavation, demolition, alterations and repairs. It also covers equipment used to maintain or improve buildings, streets, alleys, lawns, golf courses and related property when the work creates a noise disturbance.
Servicing or fueling construction equipment and delivering construction materials may also fall under the ordinance when the activity disrupts a neighborhood.
Developers and contractors are expected to use good judgment when scheduling work near houses, schools, churches, businesses and other noise-sensitive locations.
When voluntary compliance does not occur, the city may issue a stop-work order or further restrict construction hours at the site.
Emergency work may qualify for an exception
The construction-hour restrictions contain an exception for urgent work necessary to protect public safety or convenience.
However, the ordinance directs applicants to the city’s variance process. A contractor or property owner should not assume that calling a project urgent automatically authorizes nighttime work.
The city manager or a designated representative may approve a variance when the sound will last only a short time and the activity cannot reasonably comply with the ordinance.
Relief may also be considered when additional time is needed to modify an operation, an urgent public-safety necessity exists or no reasonable alternative is available.
The city may place conditions on a variance and may suspend the permit when those conditions are violated.
Barking dogs and noisy animals are included
Crandall’s noise ordinance is not limited to music, machinery and vehicles.
Keeping an animal or bird that makes frequent or prolonged noise may be considered a nuisance when the sound disturbs people in the immediate area.
A dog does not have to bark continuously throughout the entire day for a complaint to occur. Officers may consider whether the noise is recurrent, intermittent or constant.
Animal owners should investigate repeated barking rather than assuming neighbors must tolerate it during daylight hours.
Officers may consider more than a decibel reading
When determining whether a sound is unreasonably loud, unnecessary or disruptive, the city may consider several circumstances surrounding the incident.
Those considerations include the sound level, distance from residential property, how frequently the sound occurs and whether it is constant or intermittent.
Officials may also consider whether speakers, amplifiers or mechanical equipment increased the sound’s volume or range.
Another factor is whether the person responsible could control the noise without unreasonable effort or expense. A resident who can reduce the disturbance simply by lowering the volume, relocating a speaker or closing a garage door may be expected to do so.
Noise around schools and hospitals
The ordinance specifically prohibits people on public or private property near a hospital or a school that is in session from willfully making noise or creating a diversion that disturbs the facility’s peace and order.
This provision can apply even when the person creating the noise is not standing on hospital or school property.
Residents and businesses near campuses should be particularly careful with amplified music, vehicle sound systems, construction equipment and promotional announcements during school hours.
Promotional noise is regulated
Businesses and event organizers may not use drums, loudspeakers or other noise-producing devices to attract attention to a performance, show or merchandise sale when the sound disrupts nearby residents.
A business promotion does not receive an automatic exception simply because the sound has a commercial purpose.
The same neighborhood-impact standards can apply to grand openings, parking-lot sales, outdoor performances and announcements broadcast through amplified equipment.
Some activities are exempt
The ordinance contains limited exemptions for constitutionally protected speech and peaceful gatherings involving social, economic, political or religious issues.
Certain noise connected to city-permitted parades, scheduled stadium events, city-sponsored celebrations and election participation is also exempt.
Government officers and employees performing official duties are covered by another exemption.
These provisions do not create a general exemption for every party, private concert, commercial promotion or neighborhood event.
Each hour may become a separate offense
Violating Crandall’s noise ordinance is classified as a Class C misdemeanor.
A violation may be punished by a fine of up to $500. More importantly, each hour that the violation continues may be treated as a separate offense.
A person who refuses to lower the music or stop another prohibited activity after receiving a warning could therefore face more than one alleged violation.
Residents should respond promptly when a neighbor or city representative identifies a noise problem. Reducing the sound immediately is generally easier and less expensive than allowing a disagreement to escalate into repeated complaints, police responses or municipal court proceedings.
Being considerate can prevent most complaints
The ordinance does not require complete silence throughout Crandall. Residents may still listen to music, entertain guests, maintain their properties and conduct lawful business activities.
Problems generally arise when sound travels beyond the property and interferes with someone else’s sleep, conversation, work or reasonable enjoyment of a home.
Keeping speakers away from property lines, reducing outdoor bass, observing construction hours and checking on repeatedly barking animals can prevent many neighborhood conflicts before enforcement becomes necessary.
