10 county-level rules, plus city-specific rules for 1 city in Ada County, Idaho.
Verified from official government sources
In unincorporated Ada County, loud or offensive noise is prohibited between 10:00 PM and 7:00 AM. Noise is 'loud or unusual' if plainly audible in another residence or 100 feet away on a public street. Violations are a misdemeanor.
Ada County Code 5-13-2
The purpose of this chapter is to provide for and further the safety, health, peace, good order, comfort and convenience of the inhabitants of Ada County by providing a procedure for abating loud or offensive noises within the County between the hours of ten o'clock (10:00) P.M. and seven o'clock (7:00) A.M.
Ada County has no separate construction-hours ordinance; construction noise falls under the general 10:00 PM to 7:00 AM prohibition in chapter 13. In June, July and August, landscape maintenance may begin at 6:00 AM due to extreme heat.
Ada County Code 5-13-3
Due to extreme heat during the summer months of June, July and August landscape maintenance noise may begin at six o'clock (6:00) A.M.
Barking dogs are addressed directly in Ada County's noise ordinance. Section 5-13-3 lists 'domesticated animals' among the sources of loud or unusual noise prohibited between 10:00 PM and 7:00 AM in unincorporated areas.
Ada County Code 5-13-3
It shall be unlawful for any person or business to make, cause, or allow loud or unusual noise by means of voice, musical instrument, horn, radio, loudspeaker, automobile, machinery, other sound amplifying equipment, domesticated animals, or any other means which disturbs the peace, quiet, and comfort of any reasonable person of normal sensitiveness residing in the area.
Ada County has no leaf-blower-specific ordinance. Leaf blowers are landscape maintenance equipment governed by the general noise ordinance: prohibited 10:00 PM to 7:00 AM, but allowed from 6:00 AM in June, July and August.
Ada County's noise ordinance directly targets amplified sound. Radios, loudspeakers and other sound-amplifying equipment may not produce loud or unusual noise between 10:00 PM and 7:00 AM in unincorporated areas.
Ada County Code 5-13-3
Loud or unusual noise is defined as that which is plainly audible within any residence or business, other than the source of the sound, or upon a public right-of-way or street at a distance of one hundred feet (100') or more from the source of said sound.
Ada County's noise ordinance does not apply to aircraft. Section 5-13-4 exempts airplanes and other FAA-regulated aircraft, along with railway equipment and emergency vehicles. Aircraft noise is regulated federally by the FAA.
Ada County Code 5-13-4
The following are exempt from this chapter: emergency vehicles while acting in response to an emergency; locomotive or other railway equipment; airplanes and other FAA regulated aircraft; and public displays of fireworks authorized and approved under chapter 26, title 39, Idaho Code.
Ada County's noise ordinance covers machinery noise, prohibiting loud or unusual noise from equipment between 10:00 PM and 7:00 AM. Industrial operations are also subject to county zoning; agricultural activity gets protection under Idaho right-to-farm law.
Ada County's noise ordinance uses no numeric decibel limit. Instead, noise is unlawful if 'plainly audible' inside another residence or business, or 100 feet or more away on a public street, during the 10:00 PM to 7:00 AM window.
Ada County Code 5-13-3
Loud or unusual noise is defined as that which is plainly audible within any residence or business, other than the source of the sound, or upon a public right-of-way or street at a distance of one hundred feet (100') or more from the source of said sound.
Outdoor music is restricted under Ada County's noise ordinance. Voice, musical instruments and sound equipment may not create loud or unusual noise between 10:00 PM and 7:00 AM in unincorporated areas.
Idaho law requires every motor vehicle to have a working muffler and bans modified exhaust that increases noise above the factory muffler. Ada County's noise ordinance also lists automobiles among nighttime noise sources.
Idaho Code 49-937(1)
Every motor vehicle shall at all times be equipped with a muffler in good working order and in constant operation to prevent excessive or unusual noise and annoying smoke, and no person shall use a muffler cut-out, bypass, or similar device on a motor vehicle on a highway.
1 cities in Ada County have their own noise ordinances rules. Each link goes to that city's dedicated page with code citations.
See every category we cover for Ada County — parking, noise, fences, fires, animals, pools, and more.
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