Chesapeake, VA Noise from Specific Sources: Car Alarm Limits (2026)

City Code Sec. " The exemption is deliberately time-limited: it protects an alarm owner from an immediate citation the moment the alarm first sounds, but the protection ends once notice has been given and a reasonable window to silence it has passed. This distinguishes a car alarm from most other Sec. 26-141 exemptions, which are unconditional (aircraft noise, railroad noise, HVAC units); the alarm exemption is conditional and reverses once notice is given. If a triggered alarm continues sounding after the owner has been notified, it becomes subject to the general noise-curfew provisions of Sec.

26-124, or the numeric decibel limits of Sec. 26-130 if measured outside curfew hours, both enforced by the administrator defined in Sec. 26-122. Sec. 26-127 lets a citizen who has already given notice, or a neighbor who witnessed the notice, file an affidavit with the Chesapeake Magistrate for a summons if the alarm keeps sounding. Vehicle alarms parked on the street or in a driveway that repeatedly trigger without owner response can therefore lose their exempt status the same night the notice requirement is satisfied.