Tonawanda, NY Noise from Specific Sources: Car Alarm Limits (2026)

Section 133-5J of Chapter 133, the Town of Tonawanda's Noise Local Law adopted April 2, 1984, declares it a prohibited loud or disturbing noise to sound, or permit the sounding of, any exterior burglar alarm on a building or motor vehicle unless the alarm terminates its own operation within 15 minutes of activation. The rule targets both car alarms and building alarms equally: once 15 minutes passes without the alarm silencing itself, whoever owns or controls the alarm is in violation regardless of whether anyone intended to trigger it.

Section 133-6(B) expressly exempts alarms defined under § 133-5J from the numeric decibel limits in Table I, so an alarm within the 15-minute window is not judged against the land-use sound-level table that governs stereos, industrial equipment and other stationary sources; the sole standard for an alarm is the 15-minute shutoff. A separate rule at § 133-6(K) applies to routine testing of stationary emergency signaling devices, allowing only one test per day at a consistent time between 9:00 a.m. and 8:00 p.m., lasting no more than one minute, which is distinct from an alarm actually triggered by a break-in or malfunction.

The Building Department and Police Department enforce § 133-5J using the same sound-level and complaint procedures set out for the rest of Chapter 133 under § 133-8.