Austin, TX Noise from Specific Sources: Delivery Truck Noise (2026)

Under Austin City Code Sec. 9-2-3(A)(4), a person may not use or authorize a vehicle, attachment, trailer, or device associated with a vehicle for cold hold, refrigeration, or freezing of any consumable food or beverage product, including bagged ice, between 7 p.m. and 6 a.m. if noise or vibration from the vehicle or its equipment, such as an engine or generator, is audible or causes vibration at a residence. The rule covers grocery delivery trucks, beverage distributors, and mobile cold-storage trailers left running near homes overnight.

Subsection (B) gives operators three affirmative defenses: the noise occurred while the vehicle was actively being loaded, unloaded, or serviced under code; the equipment ran for 48 hours or less at a business licensed by the health authority to handle food, and only for the minimum time needed to protect food during a documented emergency such as an equipment or utility failure; or the operator obtained written consent, on a City-approved form, from at least one adult resident of every affected dwelling within 600 feet, at least 48 hours before the noise occurred.

Enforcement runs through the penalty clause covering all of Chapter 9-2: Sec. 9-2-3(D) makes a violation a Class C misdemeanor punishable by a fine up to $500, and expressly waives any requirement to prove a culpable mental state, meaning the city does not have to show intent. The City Manager may direct a department to adopt implementing rules under Chapter 1-2.