10 county-level rules, plus city-specific rules for 1 city in Lane County, Oregon.
Verified from official government sources
In unincorporated Lane County, nighttime (10 p.m.–7 a.m.) sound may not exceed 50 dBA at a neighbor's property line, versus 60 dBA in the daytime. Sound that is plainly audible inside a home overnight is prohibited even without a meter reading.
LC 6.225.010(A)(1)
exceeds fifty (50) dBA between the hours of 10:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m. of the following day. exceeds sixty (60) dBA between the hours of 7:00 a.m. and 10:00 p.m. of the same day.
Lane County's noise ordinance does not set fixed construction hours. Noise 'caused by commercial, industrial, agricultural, timber harvesting, utility or construction organizations or workers during their normal operations' is expressly exempt from LC 6.225. Individual cities set their own construction-hour limits.
LC 6.225.015(F)
The provisions of this subchapter do not apply to: ... Sounds caused by commercial, industrial, agricultural, timber harvesting, utility or construction organizations or workers during their normal operations.
A persistently barking dog can violate Lane County's noise ordinance the same as any sound source: overnight barking that is 'plainly audible' inside a neighbor's home or 50+ feet away on a right-of-way is prohibited. Repeat barking is also handled by Lane County Animal Services as a nuisance.
LC 6.225.010(A)(2)
Is plainly audible at any time between 10:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m. of the following day, ... Within a noise sensitive unit that is not the source of the sound, or ... On a public right of way at a distance of fifty (50) feet or more from the source of the sound.
Lane County has no leaf-blower ban. Yard and domestic tools such as lawn mowers, chain saws, drills and saws are treated as 'sound producing devices' only between 10 p.m. and 7 a.m. Daytime use is generally allowed; overnight use must meet the 50 dBA / plainly-audible limits.
LC 6.225.005 (Sound Producing Device, G)
Domestic tools, including electric drills, chain saws, lawn mowers, electric saws, hammers and similar tools, but only between 10:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m. of the following day.
Loudspeakers, PA systems, radios, stereos and amplified instruments are named 'sound producing devices' under Lane Code 6.225. Amplified sound may not exceed 50 dBA overnight (60 dBA daytime) at a neighbor's boundary, or be plainly audible inside a home from 10 p.m. to 7 a.m.
LC 6.225.005 (Sound Producing Device)
'Sound Producing Device' means including but not limited to: Loudspeakers, public address systems. Radios, tape recorders and/or tape players, phonographs, television sets, stereo systems including those installed in a vehicle. Musical instruments, amplified or unamplified.
Aircraft noise is not regulated by Lane County. LC 6.225.015(C) exempts sounds from sources regulated by federal law, including aircraft. Aviation noise is governed by the FAA; Eugene Airport (Mahlon Sweet Field) handles operational noise concerns.
LC 6.225.015(C)
Sounds caused by sources regulated as to sound production by federal law, including, but not limited to, sounds caused by railroad, aircraft or commercially licensed watercraft operations.
Industrial, commercial, agricultural, timber-harvesting and utility operations during their normal operations are exempt from Lane County's noise ordinance. Oregon DEQ set statewide industrial noise standards but stopped enforcing noise complaints in 1991, leaving oversight to local jurisdictions.
LC 6.225.015(F)
Sounds caused by commercial, industrial, agricultural, timber harvesting, utility or construction organizations or workers during their normal operations.
Lane County uses a two-tier decibel standard: sound may not exceed 60 dBA between 7 a.m. and 10 p.m., or 50 dBA between 10 p.m. and 7 a.m., measured at or within the boundary of a neighbor's noise-sensitive unit that is not the source of the sound.
LC 6.225.010(A)(1)
exceeds fifty (50) dBA between the hours of 10:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m. of the following day. exceeds sixty (60) dBA between the hours of 7:00 a.m. and 10:00 p.m. of the same day.
Outdoor music at ordinary residences follows the county's 50/60 dBA and plainly-audible limits. But organized athletic, religious, educational or civic group activities at venues like stadiums, parks, schools, churches and athletic fields are exempt between 7 a.m. and 11 p.m.
LC 6.225.015(A)
Sounds caused by organized athletic, religious, educational, civic or other group activities, when such activities are conducted on property generally used for such purposes, including stadiums, parks, schools, churches, athletic fields, race tracks, airports and waterways between the hours of 7:00 a.m. and 11:00 p.m. of the same day.
Loud vehicle exhaust on public highways is governed by Oregon state law, not the county ordinance. ORS 815.250 requires every vehicle to have a working exhaust system that prevents excessive noise. Vehicle engine/exhaust noise off the roadway (e.g., idling on private property) can fall under Lane Code 6.225.
ORS 815.250(1)
A person commits the offense of operation without proper exhaust system if the person drives or moves on any highway or owns and causes or knowingly permits to be driven or moved on any highway a motor vehicle that is not equipped with an exhaust system that meets the requirements under this section.
1 cities in Lane 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 Lane County — parking, noise, fences, fires, animals, pools, and more.
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