Chesapeake, VA Noise from Specific Sources: Delivery Truck Noise (2026)
Key Facts
- Restricted hours
- 10:00 p.m. to 6:30 a.m.
- Audibility distance
- 50 feet onto residential property
- Covered activity
- Loading/unloading trucks, trailers, containers
- Owner defense
- Notice mailed + sign posted before violation
- First-offense penalty
- $250.00 civil
- Governing section
- Sec. 26-125(3)
Summary
Loading, unloading, or handling containers, boxes, and crates near residential property is banned in Chesapeake between 10 p.m. and 6:30 a.m. if it is audible 50 feet or more onto a residentially zoned lot, under Sec. 26-125.
The following acts are declared to be prohibited if conducted between the hours of 10:00 p.m. and 6:30 a.m. the following day, if generating sound plainly audible on any property used or zoned for residential purposes located a distance of 50 feet or more from the source of the noise: (1)Operating on any private property a street sweeper or similar item of machinery...(2)Collecting trash or refuse on property not used or zoned for residential purposes.(3)Loading or unloading of trucks and trailers and the handling of containers, boxes, crates and similar items. Notwithstanding the foregoing, no owner or operator of a business at which the activities proscribed in this section take place shall be found in violation of this article if such owner or operator...is able to show that prior to the date of violation (i) a copy of this section was mailed or delivered to the contractor or service provider...and (ii) a legible sign was posted...
Full Breakdown
City Code Sec. " The third listed act is "loading or unloading of trucks and trailers and the handling of containers, boxes, crates and similar items," alongside street-sweeping equipment and trash collection on nonresidential property. This targets warehouses, distribution centers, and retail loading docks that sit near homes rather than residential deliveries. The section builds in a compliance defense: a business owner or operator is not liable if, before the violation date, a copy of Sec. 26-125 was mailed or delivered to the contractor or delivery service responsible, and a legible sign listing the prohibited activities was posted and remained posted at the time of the violation.
Enforcement runs through the same administrator defined in Sec. 26-122, the city manager's designee, which may include the police chief or zoning administrator, and Sec. 26-127 lets a resident file an affidavit directly with the Chesapeake Magistrate for a summons. window, loading-dock noise is only actionable if it independently exceeds the Sec. 26-130 sound-pressure table for the receiving property's zoning.
Violations & Fines
A first violation of Sec. 26-125's overnight loading restriction is a $250.00 civil penalty under Sec. 26-131(a), and $500.00 for a repeat offense arising from the same facts, or it may be charged as a class 4 misdemeanor fined up to $250.00 per occasion. A business owner who mailed the section to its delivery contractor and posted the required sign is not liable for the contractor's violation.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can a warehouse unload trucks at midnight next to a Chesapeake neighborhood?
Can a business avoid liability for its delivery contractor's overnight noise?
Does the truck-noise rule apply during the day?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Chesapeake
Compare Chesapeake to another location·View the Virginia noise from specific sources overview
See something wrong?
Help us keep this page accurate. If you notice an error or outdated information, let us know.