10 county-level rules, plus city-specific rules for 1 city in St. Lucie County, Florida.
Verified from official government sources
Unincorporated St. Lucie County caps residential sound at 60 dBA from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. and 55 dBA from 10 p.m. to 7 a.m. at the receiving property line (Code § 28-110). Port St. Lucie separately bars amplified sound in residential areas from 10 p.m. to 7 a.m.
St. Lucie County Code § 28-110
No person shall cause, suffer, allow, or permit the operation of any sound source in such a manner as to create a sound level that exceeds the sound level limits set forth in the table... Residential 7:00 a.m.—10:00 p.m. 60 [dBA]; 10:00 p.m.—7:00 a.m. 55.
In unincorporated St. Lucie County, permitted construction noise is exempt only from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. weekdays and 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday (permits issued on/after Dec. 6, 2006). Work outside those hours needs a special permit under § 28-112.
St. Lucie County Code § 28-111(15)
Noise resulting from permitted construction activities occurring... between 7:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m. on weekdays and 8:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. on Saturday for permitted construction activities pursuant to permits issued on or after December 6, 2006... A special permit issued pursuant to section 28-112 shall be required for... construction activities outside the hours set forth above.
St. Lucie County's noise chapter has no dog-specific decibel figure, but a barking dog is a 'sound source' subject to the § 28-110 limits (60/55 dBA residential) and the § 28-108 definition of noise as any sound that annoys or disturbs. Animal Control handles chronic barking.
St. Lucie County Code § 28-108
Noise means any sound that annoys or disturbs humans or causes or tends to cause an adverse psychological or physiological effect on humans or that would unreasonably interfere with the enjoyment of life or property.
Leaf blowers and other lawn equipment are exempt from St. Lucie County noise limits during normal landscape maintenance from sunrise to sunset (Code § 28-111(12)). Port St. Lucie allows the same maintenance noise from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. (Sec. 94.05(j)). No blower ban exists.
St. Lucie County Code § 28-111(12)
Noise resulting from the temporary operation of equipment or activities relating to normal lawn and/or landscape maintenance of residential or commercial uses, from sunrise to sunset, including, but not limited to, the following activities: lawn mowing, maintenance of trees, hedges, and gardens; soil cultivation; and pavement sweeping and cleaning.
Port St. Lucie's Sec. 94.06(c) prohibits loudspeakers and sound amplifiers within or adjacent to residential areas from 10 p.m. to 7 a.m. weekdays and 10 p.m. to 10 a.m. weekends/holidays when plainly audible across the property line. Unincorporated county caps amplified sound at the § 28-110 dB limits.
Port St. Lucie Code § 94.06(c)
The using or operating of any loudspeaker, loudspeaker system, sound amplifier or other similar device between the hours of 10:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m. on weekdays, and 10:00 p.m. and 10:00 a.m. on weekends and holidays, within or adjacent to residential areas such that the sound there from is plainly audible across the real property line of the source.
St. Lucie County exempts noise from any type of aircraft, except scale model aircraft, from its noise limits (Sec. 28-111(4)); Port St. Lucie does the same, excluding powered model vehicles (Sec. 94.05(d)). Full-scale aircraft noise is federally preempted under FAA authority.
St. Lucie County Code § 28-111(4)
Noise resulting from the operation of any type of aircraft, not including scale model aircraft.
Industrial property in unincorporated St. Lucie County may not exceed 70 dBA at all times at the receiving property line (Sec. 28-110). Low-frequency octave bands against residential property are capped at 65 dB. Port St. Lucie's Chapter 94 industrial limits run 75/70/65 (L1/L10/L50).
St. Lucie County Code § 28-110(4)
In addition to the limits of the table, for any sound source which impacts residential property, the maximum allowable sound level limits for the individual octave bands whose centers are 31.5, 63 and 125 Hertz shall not exceed 65 dB.
St. Lucie County Sec. 28-110 sets receiving-property dBA limits: residential 60 (day) / 55 (night), commercial 65 at all times, industrial 70 at all times, measured at the property line. Multifamily units are held to 50 dBA day / 40 dBA night from a neighbor's unit.
St. Lucie County Code § 28-110(2)
In a multifamily dwelling, it shall be unlawful to create or permit to be created any noise that exceeds the daytime (7:00 a.m. through 10:00 p.m.) limit of 50 dBA and the nighttime (10:00 p.m. through 7:00 a.m.) limit of 40 dBA, as measured from a neighbor's dwelling.
Outdoor music in unincorporated St. Lucie County must stay within the § 28-110 dB limits; relief requires a special permit from the county commission (§ 28-112). Port St. Lucie exempts permitted public performances, gatherings and park events from its amplified-sound curfew (Sec. 94.06(c)).
St. Lucie County Code § 28-112(a)
Application for a permit for relief from the noise and vibration levels designated in this article on the basis of undue hardship may be made to the board of county commissioners. Any permit granted by the board hereunder shall contain all conditions upon which the permit has been granted...
Port St. Lucie's Sec. 94.06(b)(4) bans a vehicle sound system 'plainly audible at a distance of 25 feet,' and Sec. 94.06(a) bars honking over 30 seconds except as a warning. Roadway vehicle/muffler noise is otherwise governed by Florida law (F.S. § 316.293), which the county noise chapter defers to.
Port St. Lucie Code § 94.06(b)(4)
The operating or playing of any radio, tape player, or other mechanical or electronic sound making device or instrument or similar device which produces or reproduces sound in a motor vehicle in a manner as to be plainly audible at a distance of 25 feet.
1 cities in St. Lucie County have their own noise ordinances rules. Each link goes to that city's dedicated page with code citations.
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