Noise Ordinances in Clarksville, TN

If you live in Clarksville or are thinking about moving there, noise ordinances are one of those things you probably won't think about until they affect you directly. Clarksville has 6 specific rules on the books covering different aspects of noise ordinances, and some of them might surprise you.

Vehicle Noise

Clarksville bars operating a vehicle radio, tape, CD, or similar audio device that is audible more than 50 feet away, on public streets or private property alike, and separately requires every vehicle exhaust to run through a working muffler.

Key details: Stereo audibility limit: 50 feet, public or private property. Bass counts: words need not be discernible. Muffler required: on all motor vehicle/motorboat exhaust. Repeat offense window: every 30 minutes, § 10-306. Adopted: Ord. No. 10-2012-13, 12-12-12.

A stereo audible past 50 feet under section 10-305, or exhaust noise escaping an ineffective or missing muffler under section 10-304(c)(3), is each a standalone offense, and section 10-306 makes a violation that continues or recurs within thirty minutes a separate offense for every half-hour block. Section 10-307 requires no advance warning before a citation issues, so an officer who measures the distance or hears unmuffled exhaust can cite on the spot.

Amplified Music & Outdoor Sound

Clarksville bans private use of loudspeakers or sound amplification devices on city-owned property outright, unless the department of parks and recreation issues a permit at least 10 days ahead for up to a $25 processing fee.

Key details: Default rule: loudspeakers banned on city property. Permit issuer: dept. of parks and recreation. Application lead time: 10 calendar days before use. Max processing fee: $25.00. Excluded: leased ball-field PA systems.

Using a loudspeaker or sound amplification device on city-owned property without a valid parks and recreation permit is itself a violation of section 10-310's blanket prohibition, regardless of the volume produced. A permit already in hand can be revoked immediately if the permittee's conduct violates the state's disorderly conduct statutes, and a permittee who exceeds the decibel, wattage, or area limits the department imposed as a condition of approval falls outside the permit's protection and is treated as if unpermitted.

This is one of the stricter rules in Clarksville's municipal code. If you are unsure whether your situation complies, it is worth checking with the city before proceeding.

Barking Dogs

Clarksville names frequent or long-continued barking, howling, or crying by a kept animal or bird as an example of an unreasonably loud noise banned citywide whenever it disturbs the comfort and repose of a neighbor, without needing a decibel reading.

Key details: Standard used: disturbs comfort and repose of neighbor. No meter reading required: unlike § 10-303 decibel rule. Repeat offense window: every 30 minutes, § 10-306. Warning required: none, per § 10-307. Adopted: Ord. No. 10-2012-13, 12-12-12.

Each barking incident is judged against the eleven factors in section 10-304(b), and section 10-306 treats a continuing or recurring disturbance as a separate offense for every half-hour it persists, so an animal that barks through the night can generate multiple citations rather than one. Section 10-307 states no advance warning is required before enforcement, meaning police can cite on a first substantiated complaint without a prior notice-to-comply.

Leaf Blower Rules

Clarksville exempts domestic power equipment, naming leaf blowers explicitly, from the anti-noise chapter between 6:00 a.m. and 9:00 p.m. Outside that window a blower is judged against the ordinary decibel caps and the loud and unnecessary noise standard.

Key details: Allowed hours: 6:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m.. Residential cap, daytime: 70 dB(A) until midnight. Residential cap, overnight: 65 dB(A) after midnight. Measured at: Complainant's property boundary. Repeat exposure: Each half hour a separate offense.

Prosecuted as a civil fine in Clarksville City Court. Section 10-306 counts each half hour of continuing or recurring violation as a separate offense, and § 10-307 requires no warning first.

Decibel Limits

Clarksville's noise ordinance caps sound measured at a complainant's property line by land use and hour: 70 dB(A) from residential sources by day, dropping to 65 dB(A) overnight, versus 80 dB(A) for commercial and industrial sources with a lower nighttime ceiling.

Key details: Residential day cap: 70 dB(A), 6 a.m.-midnight. Residential night cap: 65 dB(A), midnight-6 a.m.. Commercial/industrial day cap: 80 dB(A). Impulsive sound cap: 80 dB(A) at any hour. Repeat violations: new offense every 30 minutes.

A reading above the applicable dB(A) ceiling for the use and time of day is itself the violation under section 10-303; no separate finding of annoyance is required the way it is under the chapter's general nuisance-noise section 10-304. Section 10-306 makes each violation a separate offense, and a violation that continues past, or recurs within, thirty minutes counts as a fresh offense for every half-hour block, so a sustained overnight party or idling generator can rack up multiple citations in a single night.

Construction Hours

Clarksville bans excavation, construction, demolition, repair, or paving noise in residential areas between 7:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m. on weekdays and 6:00 p.m. and 9:00 a.m. on weekends, unless the building inspector issues an urgent-necessity permit.

Key details: Weekday curfew: 7:00 p.m.-7:00 a.m., residential areas. Weekend curfew: 6:00 p.m.-9:00 a.m., residential areas. Off-hours permit issuer: building inspector. Permit standard: urgent necessity for health/safety. Adopted: Ord. No. 10-2012-13, 12-12-12.

Construction, demolition, repair, or paving noise in a residential area during the 7:00 p.m.-7:00 a.m. weekday or 6:00 p.m.-9:00 a.m. weekend curfew is a violation unless the contractor holds a building inspector's urgent-necessity permit for that specific work window. Section 10-306 makes a continuing or recurring violation a separate offense for each half-hour block, so an overnight job without a permit can accumulate repeated citations rather than a single one, and section 10-307 confirms no advance warning is required before enforcement.

The Bottom Line

Clarksville's noise ordinances rules are a mixed bag. Some areas are strict, others are relaxed, and the details matter. The best approach is to check the specific rule that applies to your situation rather than assuming Clarksville is broadly strict or permissive.

All of the above reflects Clarksville's municipal code as of our last review. If you need specifics on fines, exemptions, or filing requirements, the detailed ordinance pages linked above have the full breakdown.