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Minot council adopts revised noise ordinance, adds exemption for ‘standard residential equipment’
Summary
After debate and a council amendment to remove illustrative examples, Minot’s council unanimously passed the second reading of the updated Chapter 23 noise ordinance. The final language exempts "operation and testing of standard residential equipment in proper working order" while retaining a reasonableness standard and numeric decibel guidance.
The Minot City Council on Feb. 18 approved the second reading of changes to Chapter 23 of the city code governing noise, adopting staff-recommended limits and a council amendment clarifying exemptions for routine residential equipment.
Why it matters: Councilmembers debated numeric decibel ranges and how the ordinance compares with EPA and Federal Aviation Administration guidance. Assistant City Attorney Corbin Dickerson told the council staff had reviewed national and FAA figures and recommended limits that would read as 60 decibels during daytime and 55 at night in the draft language, with a reasonableness standard to avoid one-decibel, dispositive enforcement.
Amendment and exemptions: During the meeting councilmember Mike proposed and the council adopted an amendment that moved the first sentence of the exemption list from one option into the main ordinance language and intentionally removed the enumerated examples (lawn mowers, generators, compressors) to avoid overbroad lists. The adopted exemption reads in effect (verbatim language placed into the record by the council): the operation and testing of standard residential equipment in proper working order is exempted, but the city will use a reasonableness standard and other factors to assess complaints.
Enforcement and context: Corbin Dickerson said the ordinance incorporates a reasonableness test — factors such as proximity to sleeping facilities, time of day, intensity and duration will drive enforcement decisions rather than automatically issuing citations for small numerical exceedances. Councilmembers noted other North Dakota cities commonly use 55 daytime and 50 night levels as a baseline; staff explained differences in measurement approaches and why the city offered a slightly different numeric framing.
Vote: The motion to adopt the ordinance as amended passed unanimously.
What’s next: The revised Chapter 23 is adopted as the city’s regulatory standard; staff will implement enforcement under the new language and apply the reasonableness standard when responding to noise complaints.
