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Washington adopts comprehensive rewrite of city noise ordinance, sets new permit rules and limits
Summary
The Washington City Council on Feb. 14 adopted a comprehensive rewrite of Chapter 20 (Sound and Noise Control), setting new decibel limits by land use and time, establishing ANSI-based measurement procedures and creating an outdoor amplified-sound permit with conditions and penalties.
The Washington City Council voted Feb. 14 to adopt a comprehensive rewrite of the city’s noise ordinance, adding detailed measurement standards, maximum decibel limits by land use and a new process for permits to exceed those limits.
The ordinance, filed as an amendment to Chapter 20, Article V (Sound and Noise Control), sets daytime and nighttime decibel caps by use—residential limits of 60 dB(A) during daytime hours and 50 dB(A) at night, higher limits for commercial/public spaces and a 75 dB(A) cap for industrial uses—and prescribes ANSI-compliant measurement protocols for enforcement.
The rewrite establishes an “outdoor amplified sound permit/permit to exceed” that event sponsors…
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