10 rules for unincorporated Chesterfield County, Virginia.
Verified from official government sources
Chesterfield County's noise ordinance targets sound that is 'plainly audible' from inside a neighbor's home or at 50+ feet, particularly during the hours of 12:01 a.m. to 7:00 a.m. No decibel meter is required to prove a violation.
Chesterfield County Code Sec. 14-27(a)
It shall be unlawful for any person to use, operate or play any radio ... loudspeaker, sound amplifier or other machine or device capable of producing or reproducing sound in such a manner or with such volume or duration that it is plainly audible, particularly during the hours between 12:01 a.m. and 7:00 a.m., ... at fifty (50) or more feet from the device.
Chesterfield County's noise ordinance sets no separate construction-hours curfew, but it bans plainly audible lawn, landscaping and tree-work noise in residential areas between 10:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m., and refuse loading between 10:00 p.m. and 5:00 a.m.
Chesterfield County Code Sec. 14-27(g)
[It shall be unlawful for any person] to create plainly audible noise in residential areas between 10:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m. in connection with lawn care, leaf removal, gardening, tree maintenance or removal and other landscaping, lawn or timbering activities.
In Chesterfield County it is unlawful to let an animal or bird make noise that is plainly audible at least once a minute for 10 consecutive minutes inside a neighbor's home or from 50 or more feet away. Agricultural-district farm animals are exempt.
Chesterfield County Code Sec. 14-27(c)
[It shall be unlawful for any person] to allow any animal or bird except farm animals in agricultural districts to create noise such that it is plainly audible at least once a minute for 10 consecutive minutes (i) inside the confines of the dwelling unit, house or apartment of another; or (ii) at fifty (50) or more feet from the animal or bird.
Chesterfield County has no separate leaf-blower decibel rule, but Sec. 14-27(g) bans plainly audible noise from leaf removal, lawn care and landscaping in residential areas between 10:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m.
Chesterfield County Code Sec. 14-27(g)
[It shall be unlawful for any person] to create plainly audible noise in residential areas between 10:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m. in connection with lawn care, leaf removal, gardening, tree maintenance or removal and other landscaping, lawn or timbering activities.
Amplified music is unlawful in Chesterfield County when it is plainly audible inside a neighbor's home or from 50 or more feet away, especially between 12:01 a.m. and 7:00 a.m. Parks, sporting events and authorized parades are exempt.
Chesterfield County Code Sec. 14-27(a)
It shall be unlawful for any person to use, operate or play any radio ... loudspeaker, sound amplifier or other machine or device capable of producing or reproducing sound in such a manner or with such volume or duration that it is plainly audible ... (ii) at fifty (50) or more feet from the device.
Chesterfield County does not regulate aircraft noise. Aircraft operations and noise are governed by the Federal Aviation Administration under federal law, which preempts local noise ordinances; the county's Sec. 14-27 standards do not apply to aircraft in flight.
Chesterfield County bars outdoor loudspeakers and sound devices at stores, warehouses and commercial buildings when they are plainly audible on a public sidewalk or street, unless used only intermittently for paging or permitted by zoning. Industrial districts are also governed by County Zoning Ch. 19.
Chesterfield County Code Sec. 14-27(d)
[It shall be unlawful for any person] to operate, install, have, or permit on the outside of any store, shop, business establishment, warehouse or commercial building, any loudspeaker or other sound-producing or reproducing device ... in such manner that it is plainly audible on any public sidewalk or street unless it is used only intermittently for announcing or paging an individual ...
Chesterfield County's noise ordinance sets no numeric decibel limit. It relies on a 'plainly audible' standard measured inside a neighbor's dwelling or at 50 or more feet, so police do not need a sound meter to issue a citation.
Chesterfield County Code Sec. 14-27(a)
... in such a manner or with such volume or duration that it is plainly audible ... (i) inside the confines of the dwelling unit, house or apartment of another person or (ii) at fifty (50) or more feet from the device ...
Outdoor music at a party in Chesterfield County is unlawful when plainly audible in a neighbor's home or at 50+ feet during overnight hours, and Sec. 14-27(b) specifically covers gatherings of ten or more people. Parks and sanctioned events are exempt.
Chesterfield County Code Sec. 14-27(b)
[It shall be unlawful for any person] to allow noise between the hours of 12:01 a.m. and 7:00 a.m. that is plainly audible either inside the confines of the dwelling unit, house or apartment of another person or at fifty (50) or more feet when the noise is generated from a gathering of ten or more people.
Chesterfield County bans playing a vehicle's radio or sound system so it is plainly audible 50 or more feet from the car. Loud exhaust is separately governed by Virginia's statewide muffler law.
Chesterfield County Code Sec. 14-27(e)
[It shall be unlawful for any person] to play or permit the playing of any radio, stereo, tape player, compact disc player, loud speaker or other electronic device or mechanical equipment used for the amplification of sound, which is located within a motor vehicle and which is plainly audible from outside the motor vehicle at a distance of 50 feet or more from the vehicle.
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