Catoosa County, GA Noise from Specific Sources: Car Alarm Limits (2026)

The county's nuisance-abatement article specifically targets stationary vehicle noise: UDC § 9.05.01(A)(6)(a) declares it a public nuisance to sound any bell, horn, whistle, compressed-air mechanical device, or other signal device while the vehicle is not in motion, for any unnecessary and unreasonable period of time, except when the sound is a genuine danger signal. A car alarm that keeps sounding a parked vehicle's horn or siren-like signal falls squarely within this rule once the duration becomes unreasonable, since the exception is limited to true danger signals rather than routine alarm cycling.

The same subsection separately bars using any siren other than one on a police, fire or emergency vehicle, and bars operating a vehicle in a state of disrepair that produces loud or unreasonable grinding, rattling or backfiring noise. As with every listed nuisance, it is independently unlawful under subsection (B) for any person to cause, permit or allow the nuisance to continue, and the Zoning Administrator enforces the rule on complaint (ordinarily needing a signed affidavit from at least three different households) or on his own motion.

A written notice to abate precedes any prosecution, and an unresolved case goes to Catoosa County Magistrate Court, where conviction is a misdemeanor carrying a fine of not less than $50.00 nor more than $1,000.00, with each day of continued violation a separate offense.