Columbus, GA Noise from Specific Sources: Delivery Truck Noise (2026)
Key Facts
- Curfew hours
- 10 p.m.–7 a.m.
- Covers
- garbage, compactor & other trucks
- Hotel/motel buffer
- 300 feet
- Applies in
- residential districts
Summary
Columbus, Georgia bans loading or unloading garbage, compactor, or delivery trucks in residential districts, or within 300 feet of a hotel or motel, between 10 p.m. and 7 a.m.
No person shall load any garbage, trash on compactor truck, or any other truck, whereby the loading, unloading or handling of boxes, crates, equipment or other objects is conducted within a residential district or within 300 feet of any hotel or motel between the hours of 10:00 pm. and 7:00 a.m.(i)Exhausts. The maximum permissible sound pressure levels of any continuous source of sound shall be as herein established for the time period and district listed in Table A of this section. This includes, but is not limited to, sound from such activities as production, processing, cleaning, servicing, testing, operating, or repairing either vehicles, materials, goods, products or devices. Sound pressure levels in excess of those established for the zoned districts of the city, in times herewith listed, shall constitute prima facie evidence that such sound is an unnecessary noise and a violation of this subsection. Sound pressure levels shall be measured at the approximate location of the property line or the boundary of the public right-of-way, at a height of at least four feet above the immediate surrounding surface, on a sound level meter of standard design and operated on the "A" weighting network. TABLE A
Noise Levels [db(A)] Land Use Category Daytime 7:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. Nighttime 10:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m.
Residential 60 55 Commercial 75 70* Industrial 85 85* *Industrial district abutting a residential district 85 65
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 75).
Full Breakdown
Under the consolidated Columbus-Muscogee noise article, no one may load garbage onto a compactor truck, or load, unload, or handle boxes, crates, equipment, or other objects on any truck within a residential district, or within 300 feet of any hotel or motel, between 10:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m. The rule targets exactly the early-morning and late-night delivery and refuse-truck banging that generates residential noise complaints, and it sits in the same special-noise-sources section as the leaf-blower and construction curfews.
Violations & Fines
A truck-loading noise violation is punished under the general penalty at Columbus Code § 1-8, the same provision that covers the article's other noise curfews.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can a delivery truck unload in a Columbus, Georgia neighborhood at 5 a.m.?
Does the curfew protect hotels too?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Columbus
Compare Columbus to another location·View the Georgia 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.