Noise Ordinance

Section 16-46 of the Code of DeKalb County states that “It shall be unlawful for any person to make, continue or cause to be made or continued any loud, unnecessary or unusual sound or noise which either annoys, disturbs, injures or endangers the comfort, repose, health, peace or safety of others in the county, and which is audible to a person of normal hearing ability more than fifty (50) feet from the point of origin of the sound or noise.” The Code includes the following nonexclusive list of devices, entities, and acts that may generate conditions that violate the Code:

  1. Horns, signaling devices
  2. Radios, phonographs, similar devices
  3. Loudspeakers, amplifiers for advertising
  4. Yelling, shouting, etc.
  5. Animals, birds
  6. Steam whistles
  7. Exhausts
  8. Defect in vehicle or load
  9. Loading, unloading, opening boxes
  10. Construction or repair of buildings
  11. Schools, courts, churches, hospitals
  12. Hawkers, peddlers, vendors
  13. Noises to attract attention
  14. Transportation of metal rails, similar materials
  15. Pile drivers, hammers, similar equipment
  16. Blowers
  17. Sound trucks

For more details, consult the Code of DeKalb County located at the reference desk of the Chamblee Library or online through a link at Blair Belton’s web site.