How Scottsdale Handles Noise Ordinances: A Practical Guide

Scottsdale maintains 134 local ordinances across all categories, and 8 of those deal specifically with noise ordinances. Here is a breakdown of what the city actually requires, what is prohibited, and where Scottsdale falls on the strict-to-permissive spectrum compared to other cities.

Amplified Music & Outdoor Sound

Scottsdale bars operating a mobile sound amplification system, essentially any vehicle-mounted radio, stereo or speaker rig, between 10:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m. if it can be heard 50 feet away or disturbs anyone's peace. Emergency, utility and permitted-event vehicles are exempt, and violators face misdemeanor penalties.

Key details: Curfew hours: 10:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m.. Audibility trigger: Heard 50+ feet from vehicle. Alternate trigger: Disturbs anyone's quiet/repose. Exempt vehicles: Emergency, utility, government. Also exempt: Permitted parade/political ads.

Section 19-20(d) makes a violation a misdemeanor punishable as provided in § 1-8, the code's general penalty section, which classifies the offense as a Class 1 misdemeanor sentenced under A.R.S. §§ 13-707, 13-802 and 13-804, and treats each continuing day of violation as a separate offense.

Vehicle Noise

Scottsdale Code Section 17-63 bans using a compression release engine brake, sometimes called a 'jake brake,' anywhere the City has posted a sign prohibiting it, specifically to cut excessive vehicle noise. Violators face a civil sanction of $200 to $2,500.

Key details: Adopted: Ordinance No. 4518, effective 9-14-2021. Where banned: Only locations with a posted prohibition sign. Minimum civil sanction: $200. Maximum civil sanction: $2,500. Exceptions: Imminent risk to life/property; emergency vehicles.

Section 17-63(C) makes a violation a civil traffic violation subject to a minimum civil sanction of $200 and a maximum of $2,500. The sanction applies per instance of using the brake where a prohibition sign is posted, and the emergency exceptions in subsection (A) are the only defenses built into the section.

Quiet Hours

Scottsdale bans mobile sound amplification between 10:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m. under Code of Ordinances Sec. 19-20, covering vehicle stereos, radios and PA systems that carry 50 feet or more or that annoy or disturb the quiet of anyone nearby. The curfew targets vehicle-mounted sound, not fixed-property noise, and lists specific exemptions.

Key details: Curfew hours: 10:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m.. Audibility trigger: 50+ feet from the vehicle. Governing section: Sec. 19-20. Penalty class: Misdemeanor via Sec. 1-8. Key exemptions: Emergency, utility, permitted parade vehicles.

Violating Sec. 19-20 is a misdemeanor punishable under the Code's general penalty section, Sec. 1-8, which classifies unspecified Code violations as a Class 1 misdemeanor under state law. Sec. 1-8 also treats each day a violation continues as a separate offense, so a nightly repeat of the same mobile sound-amplification conduct can be charged as a new violation each occurrence rather than folded into one citation.

Leaf Blower Rules

Scottsdale's leaf blower rule is narrow but absolute: Sec. 18-9.1 makes it unlawful for anyone to use a leaf blower to blow landscape waste into the public roadway. The code defines leaf blower as any device generating a stream of air to move landscape waste or litter, and landscape waste covers dirt, leaves, clippings and other debris from landscape work.

Key details: Prohibited act: Blowing landscape waste into public roadway, Sec. 18-9.1. Adopted: Ord. No. 3775, March 18, 2008. First residential fine: $250 civil citation, Sec. 18-65(a). Criminal minimum fine: $500, class one misdemeanor, Sec. 18-66. Enforcing agency: Code inspectors, Scottsdale police, Sec. 18-15.

A first citation for blowing landscape waste into the roadway on residential property runs $250 under Sec. 18-65(a), rising to $500 for a second violation and $750 for a third within two years; non-residential property starts at $750. If the violation is charged criminally under Sec. 18-66, it is a class one misdemeanor carrying a minimum $500 fine, and Sec. 18-13 makes each day the roadway debris remains a separate offense.

The rules around leaf blower rules in Scottsdale lean permissive, but that does not mean anything goes.

Aircraft Noise

Scottsdale's Code of Ordinances § 5-358 forces new noise-sensitive development inside the Airport Influence Area's AC-2 and AC-3 zones to be built with noise attenuation measures meeting the International Building Code's sound-transmission standards. The requirement sits inside the Airport Vicinity Development Regulations that also route day cares, schools, hospitals, dwellings and other noise-sensitive uses through avigation easements and, in AC-3, an outright prohibition.

Key details: Zones covered: AC-2 and AC-3 (Airport Influence Area). Construction standard: IBC sound-transmission requirements. Also required (AC-1/2/3): Recorded avigation easement. Appeal deadline: 10 calendar days (§ 5-362). Enforcing official: Aviation Director (§ 5-361).

Building without the required noise attenuation, or without a recorded avigation easement, is a violation of Chapter 5 under § 5-401: unlawful to cause, facilitate or fail to perform an act required by the chapter, and where two or more people share responsibility their liability is joint and several under § 5-401(b). Judgments for abatement or civil sanctions under Article IV are enforced the same way as any other civil judgment under § 5-402.

Construction Hours

Scottsdale restricts construction work to set daily windows under City Code § 31-12: 6 a.m.-7 p.m. weekdays and 7 a.m.-7 p.m. Saturdays in summer, tighter hours in winter, and no Sunday work without written justification to the building official.

Key details: Citation: Scottsdale Code § 31-12 (IBC § 117). Summer weekday hours: 6:00 a.m.-7:00 p.m. (Apr 1-Oct 31). Winter weekday hours: 7:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m. (Nov 1-Mar 31). Sunday work: Barred without written justifiable cause. Modification application: Filed 7+ days ahead, max 30 days.

Working outside the permitted hours, or performing amplified-sound work outside the 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. weekday window set for noise-mitigation sites, is enforced through a compliance notice under § 117.3.1, which states what corrective action is required and by when; noncompliance can escalate to a stop-work order, and the City is not liable for any construction delay the stop-work order causes.

Barking Dogs

Scottsdale's Code of Ordinances § 4-17(c) makes it unlawful to knowingly keep or harbor any animal or fowl whose frequent or habitual howling, yelping, barking or crowing annoys or disturbs a neighborhood, or even just two people, one of whom can be a police officer or animal control officer. The rule covers all animals, not only dogs, and needs no minimum number of complaining neighbors beyond that pair.

Key details: Legal standard: Frequent or habitual noise (§ 4-17(c)). Complainant threshold: 2 persons, one may be an officer. Scope: Any animal or fowl, not just dogs. Default penalty: Class 1 misdemeanor (§ 1-8). Continuing violation: Each day is a separate offense.

A § 4-17(c) violation defaults to the general penalty in § 1-8: a Class 1 misdemeanor, punished as such under state law, with each day the disturbance continues treated as a separate offense. The city can also pursue the underlying condition as a public nuisance and abate it. Because an animal control officer or police officer can count as one of the two disturbed persons, a single officer's observation can support enforcement action.

Decibel Limits

Scottsdale Sec. 19-26 bars any business that serves alcohol or provides live entertainment from creating unreasonable noise that disturbs a nearby residential district, and Sec. 19-25 sets a rebuttable presumption that a reading over 68 dB(A), audible 100 feet or more from the business, is unreasonable.

Key details: Presumed unreasonable threshold: Over 68 dB(A). Audibility distance: 100+ feet from business. First violation fine: $500. Repeat fines: $1,500 then $2,500 within a year. Meter standard: ANSI S1.4-1971 Type 1, A-weighted.

Sec. 19-28 makes a first violation a civil offense carrying a $500 fine, a second violation within one year $1,500, and a third or subsequent violation within one year $2,500. A business that violates the noise conditions of its own city-issued special-events permit is separately fined $2,500 regardless of prior history.

The Bottom Line

Scottsdale'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 Scottsdale is broadly strict or permissive.

Keep in mind that Scottsdale can amend these rules at any council meeting. For the most current version of any rule mentioned here, check the specific ordinance page, where we track updates as they happen.