10 rules for unincorporated Manatee County, Florida.
Verified from official government sources
In unincorporated Manatee County, sound must not exceed 55 dBA / 60 dBC at night (11:00 p.m.–7:00 a.m.) or 60 dBA / 65 dBC daytime. Fridays, Saturdays and pre-holidays extend daytime to midnight. Cities set their own rules.
Manatee County Code § 2-21-34(2)(b)
No person shall generate or cause to be generated from any source, sound which... exceeds: 1. Sixty (60) dBA or sixty-five (65) dBC during the hours between 7:00 a.m. and 11:00 p.m.... 3. Fifty-five (55) dBA or sixty (60) dBC during the hours between 11:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m.
Construction and construction-equipment noise is exempt only between 7:00 a.m. and 8:00 p.m. in unincorporated Manatee County. Work needing an earlier start (e.g., concrete pours) requires a prior written waiver approved by the department director.
Manatee County Code § 2-21-33(4)
The usual sounds or noises of construction and operation of construction equipment between the hours of 7:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. Construction operations (i.e., concrete pours, etc.) that need to start prior to 7:00 a.m. must submit a written request prior to commencement of the activity, which must be approved by the department director or designee.
Manatee County's noise ordinance has no dog-specific decibel rule, but a persistently barking dog can be a 'noise disturbance' under § 2-21-34(1) if it disturbs a reasonable person. Animal-nuisance complaints are also handled through the county's animal welfare code.
Manatee County Code § 2-21-34(1)
It shall be unlawful for any person to make or continue, or cause or permit to be made or continued, any noise disturbance, as defined in section 2-21-31.
Leaf blowers, lawn mowers and domestic power tools are exempt from Manatee County's noise limits only between 7:00 a.m. and 10:00 p.m. Outside that window they lose the exemption and fall under the general noise-disturbance and decibel limits.
Manatee County Code § 2-21-33(2)(a)
Lawn care, soil cultivation, domestic power tools, lawn mowers, maintenance of trees, hedges, gardens, saws and tractors, street sweepers, mosquito fogging, tree trimming and limb chipping and other normal community operations [exempt] 7:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m.
Amplified music in unincorporated Manatee County must stay under the § 2-21-34 decibel limits (60 dBA daytime, 55 dBA after 11 p.m.) at the receiving property, and can also be cited as a 'noise disturbance' by ear regardless of the meter reading.
Manatee County Code § 2-21-34(2)(c)
For any source of sound which emits a continuous sound, the maximum sound level limits set forth in subsection (2)(b) shall be reduced by five (5) dBA. For any source of sound which is of short duration and is nonrepetitive, the maximum sound level limits... shall be increased by five (5) dBA from 7:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m.
Aircraft operating under federal law and FAA air-traffic-control rules are exempt from Manatee County's noise ordinance. Aircraft noise is federally preempted, so the county does not set its own aircraft decibel limits; complaints go to the FAA or the airport.
Manatee County Code § 2-21-33(8)
Any aircraft operating in conformity with, or pursuant to, federal law, federal air regulations and air traffic control instructions used pursuant to and within the duly adopted federal air regulations.
Manufacturing in properly zoned Manatee County areas is exempt from the noise ordinance as long as it does not create a noise disturbance on land not zoned for such activity. Mining-operation noise is regulated separately under Chapter 2-20.
Manatee County Code § 2-21-33(3)
Operation of manufacturing in areas zoned for such activities and which do not create a noise disturbance on any properties not designated for such activities.
Manatee County sets numeric limits: 60 dBA / 65 dBC daytime, 55 dBA / 60 dBC overnight, and 72 dBA / 77 dBC for residential land next to commercial use. Levels are measured as a 30-second average (Leq) at the receiving property.
Manatee County Code § 2-21-34(2)(a)
Sound level limits pursuant to this section shall be measured with a sound level meter as a Leq (average sound level) for a minimum thirty (30) second period of time.
Outdoor music at a home, patio or venue in unincorporated Manatee County must meet the same § 2-21-34 decibel limits — 60 dBA daytime, 55 dBA after 11 p.m. — measured at the neighbor's property, and can be cited as a noise disturbance without a meter.
Manatee County Code § 2-21-34(2)(b)(1)
Sixty (60) dBA or sixty-five (65) dBC during the hours between 7:00 a.m. and 11:00 p.m., Sunday through Thursday. Friday, Saturday and the day prior to a federally recognized holiday, the hours shall be from 7:00 a.m. to 12:00 midnight.
In unincorporated Manatee County, amplified sound from a vehicle's radio or stereo that is 'plainly audible' at 50 feet is a violation. Ordinary motor-vehicle engine noise on public roads is exempt if it complies with Florida traffic law.
Manatee County Code § 2-21-33(5)
This exception shall not apply to amplified sound produced by a radio, tape player, CD player, or other mechanical sound making device or instrument from within the motor vehicle so that the sound is plainly audible from fifty (50) feet from the source vehicle.
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