Cherry Hill, NJ Noise from Specific Sources: Delivery Truck Noise (2026)

Section 5-1.6.f of Chapter 5's Noise Control ordinance addresses 'Loading Operations' directly: loading, unloading, opening, or otherwise handling boxes, crates, containers, or similar objects is barred outside the hours of 8:00 a.m. and dusk or 8:00 p.m., whichever comes first. That window applies to any commercial delivery, freight handling, or dock activity in the Township, whether at a shopping center loading dock along Route 70 or a warehouse near Route 38. The subsection carves out trash collection separately: it is 'specifically governed by contract,' and in no event may solid waste or recyclables be collected before 7:00 a.m., a floor a full hour earlier than the general loading curfew's 8:00 a.m. start.

Section 5-1.2 defines the 'noise disturbance' standard that underlies the whole ordinance: sound that endangers safety or health, disturbs a person of normal sensitivities, or endangers property, and Section 5-1.5 makes it unlawful for noise to emanate past a property boundary and disturb neighboring owners. Emergency deliveries tied to repairing utilities or abating a life-threatening condition are exempt under Section 5-1.7's emergency-work exception, and noise from a municipally sponsored event is exempt outright. A business that genuinely cannot schedule deliveries inside the window, because of a supplier's fixed route, for example, can apply to the Department of Community Development for a variation under Section 5-1.8: a $50 fee, a written justification of the hardship, and approval capped at ten days unless renewed.