Quiet Hours: Ayer vs Cambridge

Middlesex County has no operational county government - it was abolished July 11, 1997 under M.G.L. c. 34B - so there is no countywide noise ordinance. Massachusetts has no statewide decibel limit either; quiet hours are set by each city/town under home rule. The state baseline is 310 CMR 7.10 (MassDEP Noise Pollution Policy), which prohibits any source from causing sound that exceeds the ambient (background) level by more than 10 dB(A) at the property line of the source, or that produces a pure tone condition. In Middlesex County's largest cities, Cambridge Code Ch. 8.16 sets quiet hours from 10:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m., Lowell Code Ch. 215 prohibits unreasonable noise from 11:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m., and Newton Code Ch. 20 sets the period 10:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m. weekdays.

Cambridge enforces nighttime quiet hours from 10 PM to 7 AM weekdays and 10 PM to 9 AM weekends under the Cambridge Noise Control Ordinance, Chapter 8.16 of the Municipal Code.