Norfolk, VA Noise from Specific Sources: Bar & Nightclub Noise (2026)
Key Facts
- Applies to
- Granby Street nightclub/restaurant entrances
- Distance test
- Audible 10+ feet from entrance
- Hours covered
- 10:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m.
- Measurement condition
- Doors and windows facing street closed
- Penalty
- Class 3 misdemeanor, up to $500 fine
- Code section
- § 26-6(a)(3)(iii)
Summary
Bars and restaurants on Granby Street can't let amplified music carry past 10 feet from their entrance between 10 p.m. and 7 a.m. City Code § 26-6(a)(3) makes audible sound through closed doors and windows a per se violation, enforced by Norfolk Police and punishable as a Class 3 misdemeanor with fines up to $500.
(3)Loudspeakers, public address systems, amplifiers, and similar devices. Using, operating, or permitting the operation of any loudspeaker, public address system, mobile sound vehicle, communication system, amplifier, or similar device capable of amplifying sound, including any such device in a motor vehicle, for any purpose between the hours of 10:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m. in such a manner as to permit sound to be plainly audible (i) inside the confines of another person's enclosed dwelling unit or enclosed motor vehicle; or (ii) at fifty (50) or more feet from the noise; or (iii) amplified music that is plainly audible at ten (10) or more feet from an entrance to a nightclub or restaurant on Granby Street, observed when all doors and windows facing the street are closed.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 166).
Full Breakdown
m. It sets three alternate audibility tests: sound plainly audible inside another person's enclosed dwelling or motor vehicle; sound audible 50 or more feet from the source generally; or, specifically, amplified music plainly audible 10 or more feet from an entrance to a nightclub or restaurant on Granby Street, measured with all doors and windows facing the street closed. That third, tighter test reflects Granby Street's dense entertainment-district storefronts, where the general 50-foot rule would be unworkable. Enforcement runs through § 26-3: the Norfolk Police Department and any agency with concurrent jurisdiction may enforce the chapter, assisted by other city departments or the Virginia Department of Health, and an owner, tenant, or manager present at the venue is rebuttably presumed responsible if the operator of the sound isn't identified.
Penalties and the stricter-standard-controls rule in § 26-7 apply the same as elsewhere in the noise chapter, which was rewritten by Ord. No. 48,923, § 1, effective September 13, 2022.
Violations & Fines
Amplified music audible at 10 feet or more from a Granby Street bar or restaurant entrance, with doors and windows facing the street closed, between 10:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m., is a per se violation under § 26-6(a)(3)(iii) with no decibel reading required. Elsewhere, the same subsection reaches PA systems and mobile sound heard 50 feet away or inside a neighbor's home. First offense is a Class 3 misdemeanor, fine up to $500, § 26-4(a).
Frequently Asked Questions
How close can nightclub music be heard on Granby Street at night?
Do other Norfolk bars outside Granby Street face the same 10-foot rule?
What happens if a Granby Street bar keeps violating the noise rule?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Norfolk
Compare Norfolk to another location·View the Virginia noise from specific sources overview
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