5 rules for unincorporated Columbia County, Georgia.
Verified from official government sources
Columbia County treats excessive, unnecessary or unusually loud noise as a nuisance under Code § 34-32(6). There is no decibel meter, but a radio or device plainly audible 50 feet away between 11 p.m. and 7 a.m. is prima facie a violation.
Columbia County, GA, Code of Ordinances § 34-32(6)
It shall be unlawful for any person to make, create or maintain any excessive, unnecessary, unnatural or unusually loud noise which is prolonged, unusual and unnatural in its time, place and manner, and is a detriment to the public health, comfort, convenience, safety, welfare and prosperity of the residents of the county.
Columbia County limits noisy building work to between 6 a.m. and 11 p.m. under Code § 34-32(6)b.9. Outside those hours it is a prohibited noise, though the county can grant a permit of up to 30 days for special cases.
Columbia County, GA, Code of Ordinances § 34-32(6)b.9
The erection, including excavation, demolition, alteration or repair of any building, as well as the operation of any pile driver, steam shovel, pneumatic hammer, derrick, steam or electric hoist, or any other similar equipment attended by loud or unusual noise as determined by a trier of fact, other than between the hours of 6:00 a.m. and 11:00 p.m.
In Columbia County, a dog whose frequent or long-continued barking disturbs neighbors is a prohibited noise under Code § 34-32(6)b.5. Columbia County Animal Services handles complaints, usually starting with a warning before a citation.
Columbia County, GA, Code of Ordinances § 34-32(6)b.5
The keeping of any animal or bird which, by causing frequent or long-continued noise, shall disturb the comfort or repose of any person in the vicinity, and which is deemed unreasonable by a trier of fact.
Columbia County has no leaf-blower ban, but § 34-32(6)b.12 makes any blower or power fan a prohibited noise unless it is muffled. Gas and electric blowers are otherwise legal, bounded by the general nuisance-noise ordinance.
Columbia County, GA, Code of Ordinances § 34-32(6)b.12
The operation of any noise-creating blower, power fan or any internal combustion engine, the operation of which causes noise due to the explosion of operating gases or fluids, unless the noise from the blower or fan is muffled and the engine is equipped with a muffler device sufficient to deaden the noise.
Amplified music in unincorporated Columbia County is a nuisance noise under § 34-32(6). A radio, instrument or device plainly audible 50 feet away between 11 p.m. and 7 a.m. is prima facie a violation. Clarks Hill Lake gatherings draw complaints.
Columbia County, GA, Code of Ordinances § 34-32(6)b.2
The operation of any set, instrument, phonograph, machine or device between the hours of 11:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m. in a manner as to be plainly audible at a distance of 50 feet from the building, structure or vehicle in which it is located shall be prima facie evidence of a violation of this section.
See every category we cover for Columbia County — parking, noise, fences, fires, animals, pools, and more.
Columbia County Ordinance Hub →