Bay County, MI Ordinances (2026)

Bay County does not ban or restrict any dog breed. The county repealed its rebuttable pit-bull presumption in 2011 and instead regulates any animal, of any breed, that is declared…

Bay County does not cap the number of pets a household may keep for its own use, but it draws the line at three or more dogs kept for sale, boarding, breeding, training or sporting…

Bay County requires every cat four months or older to be licensed and to wear a collar with an approved identifying tag, with a narrow safety exception. An owner may skip the collar…

Bay County does not zone or license backyard chickens or livestock, since that falls to the townships and cities, but its Animal Control Ordinance bans letting poultry or livestock run…

Bay County bans letting a dog run at large, defined as unrestrained wandering off the owner's property or on a leash longer than six feet. Working dogs actively engaged in hunting…

Bay County caps noise by zoning district under a decibel table in its Noise Control Ordinance. Residential property is limited to 55 dBA from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. and 50 dBA overnight…

Bay County confines building construction, demolition, alteration, and repair noise to 7:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. on weekdays; work outside that window is a noise violation unless the…

Bay County bars loud radios, musical instruments, and yelling or shouting between 10:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m.; music or sound equipment audible fifty feet from its source during those…

Bay County limits car and motorcycle horns to danger warnings only, bans engine-exhaust-operated horns and whistles, and requires every steam, motor, or motorboat engine's exhaust to…

Bay County's Animal Control Ordinance bars owners from letting their animal bark, howl, yelp, cry or otherwise make disturbing sounds that create a neighborhood nuisance. A first…

Bay County's Health Department will not permit a new on-site sewage disposal system (septic system) if its proposed location sits in a flood plain that floods on a regular seasonal…

Bay County requires a Soil Erosion and Sediment Control Permit before any earth change disturbing enough ground to trigger the ordinance, including new home sites over 400 square feet…

Bay County makes it a misdemeanor to loiter in or about a school building or on school grounds without a legitimate reason and without written permission from a school administrator…

Bay County bans smoking in library buildings, on library grounds and in Library System bookmobiles, except in areas the Library System designates for it. The rule sits in the county's…

Bay County makes it a misdemeanor to drink alcohol on any public street, highway, alley, sidewalk or public way open to vehicle or pedestrian traffic. The same ban reaches public…

Bay County's noise ordinance flags loud loading, unloading and box-opening noise from delivery trucks as a prohibited unnecessary noise, especially between 10:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m. The…

Bay County's noise ordinance requires a muffler on any stationary internal combustion engine, including a backup generator, so its exhaust does not create loud or explosive noise…

Bay County's noise ordinance requires muffling on any noise-creating blower or power fan, the kind of equipment used in HVAC and ventilation systems, if its operation causes noise from…

Bay County's Nuisance Code makes it illegal to occupy, rent or offer for occupancy any premises with a nuisance condition, and puts the abatement duty squarely on the owner or anyone…

Bay County's Nuisance Code makes it unlawful to place or deposit refuse, rubbish or garbage in an unsanitary manner on public or private property unless the Health Officer specifically…

Bay County's Nuisance Code declares the presence of rats, mice, cockroaches or other vermin, or evidence of them, a public nuisance on any property. Once the Health Officer finds a…

Bay County's Ice and Snow Removal Ordinance bars anyone from shoveling, plowing or blowing snow and ice from private property, including a private driveway or parking area, onto any…

Bay County licenses pawnbrokers operating outside cities and villages of more than 3,000 people, such as the City of Bay City and City of Essexville, which license their own. The…

Bay County requires secondhand dealers, buyers and sellers of used goods like electronics, tools, jewelry and precious metals, to hold a license from the County Executive under Part 18…

Bay County's Secondhand and Scrap Dealer Ordinance exempts rummage sales from secondhand-dealer licensing only if the same person or location does not hold one for more than six…

Bay County bars minors under 17 from loitering or wandering in public between 12:01 a.m. and 5:00 a.m., and bars minors under 16 from public places between 10:00 p.m. and 5:00 a.m. A…