Noise Ordinances in James City County, VA (2026)
6 rules for unincorporated James City County, Virginia.
Verified from official government sources
Quiet Hours
James City County bars any noise plainly audible across a residential property line, or through the wall shared by two dwelling units, between 11:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m. Sec. 15-20(f)(1) is the noise ordinance's general nighttime quiet-hours rule, backing up its use-specific bans on loud animals, engines and amplified sound.
Nighttime Quiet Hours in James City County
Some RestrictionsJames City County Code § 15-20(f)(1)
Residential zoned districts and areas, and/or structures designated as residential on master plans and in mixed use zoned districts. No person shall cause or permit to be caused any noise which is plainly audible across a residential property line or through the partitions common to two dwelling units between the hours of 11:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m.
Construction Hours
James City County bars operating bulldozers, cranes, backhoes, pile drivers, jackhammers and similar construction or landscaping equipment in residential and mixed-use areas between 9:00 p.m. and 6:30 a.m. Sec. 15-20(e)(1) excuses emergency work and equipment the county administrator has separately authorized.
Construction Noise Hours in James City County
Some RestrictionsJames City County Code § 15-20(e)(1)
Construction and landscaping activities. The operation of any bulldozer, crane, backhoe, front loader, pile driver, jackhammer, pneumatic drill, or other construction equipment between the hours of 9:00 p.m. and 6:30 a.m. except when operated in the course of emergency work or as authorized by the county administrator.
Barking Dogs
James City County's nuisance ordinance, Sec. 3-6, names "excessive, continuous or untimely barking" as a public nuisance alongside biting, chasing vehicles and repeated trespassing. A complaint alone doesn't close a case: the owner must be summoned to general district court, which can order the dog confined, removed or the nuisance otherwise abated and can fine the owner up to $100.00.
James City County Bars Excessive Dog Barking
Some RestrictionsJames City County Code § 3-6(a), (b)
(a)All animal owners shall exercise proper care and control of their animals to prevent them from becoming a public nuisance. Excessive, continuous or untimely barking, molesting passersby, biting or attacking any person without provocation on one or more occasions, chasing vehicles, habitually attacking other domestic animals, trespassing upon school grounds or trespassing upon private propert...
Amplified Music & Outdoor Sound
In James City County's mixed-use zoned districts, amplified sound at restaurants, bars, coffee shops and cafes cannot be plainly audible 50 feet from its source between midnight and 7:00 a.m. Sec. 15-20(e)(2)a targets exactly that use, layered on top of the ordinance's general amplified-device rules.
Amplified Sound Rules for Bars and Cafes
Some RestrictionsJames City County Code § 15-20(e)(2)a
Mixed use zoned districts. The following act, among others, is declared to be plainly audible noise in violation of this section, but such enumeration shall not be deemed to be exclusive:a.Amplified sound at restaurants, bars, coffee shops, cafes, etc. The using, operating, or permitting the playing, using, or operating of any instrument, machine, or device for the producing or reproducing of s...
Decibel Limits
James City County has no meter-based decibel table; instead Sec. 15-20(f)(2) bars any noise plainly audible 100 feet from its source, between 9:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m., for any use adjacent to a residential zoned district or residentially designated structure. That distance-and-time test is the county's functional numeric noise standard.
Noise Distance Standard Near Homes
Some RestrictionsJames City County Code § 15-20(f)(2)
Uses adjacent to residential zoned districts and areas, and/or structures designated as residential on master plans and in mixed use zoned districts. No person shall cause or permit to be caused any noise which is plainly audible at a distance of 100 feet from its source between the hours of 9:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m.
Vehicle Noise
James City County bans unreasonably loud, disturbing or unnecessary noise from operating a motor vehicle or motorcycle under Sec. 13-14(c). The section separately bans mounting a radio, loudspeaker or amplifier on a vehicle to broadcast advertising sound on a county highway. Sec. 13-14 sets no fine of its own, so James City County Police cite violations under the chapter's general $100.00 traffic-infraction cap.
James City County Vehicle Noise Rule
Some RestrictionsJames City County Code §§ 13-14, 13-27
(b)The use in, upon or attached to any motor vehicle operating on any highway of the county of any radio, phonograph, musical instrument, bell, whistle, loudspeaker, amplifier or device of any kind whatsoever whereby sound therefrom is cast upon any highway to promote or advertise the sale of goods, wares or merchandise, or for the purpose of advertising auction sales, sporting events or other ...
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