Dothan, AL Noise from Specific Sources: Delivery Truck Noise (2026)

City Code § 62-102(8) prohibits the creation of a loud and excessive noise in connection with the loading or unloading of any vehicle, or the opening and destruction of bales, boxes, crates and containers, in or adjacent to residential areas before 7:00 a.m. or after 10:00 p.m. The restriction targets exactly the kind of clatter a delivery truck, forklift, or dock crew generates while servicing a business next to homes: pallet jacks, dropped crates, hand trucks banging on loading docks, and container work all fall within the rule when they occur in the barred hours near a residential area.

Section 62-101 backs this specific ban with the article's general standard, making it unlawful to create any unreasonable, loud, disturbing or unnecessary noise detrimental to the comfort or repose of any individual, so a delivery that is merely loud, even inside the 7:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. window, can still be cited if it disturbs a neighbor's peace. Section 62-105 supplies the penalty for any Article III violation, including this one: a first offense is punished by a fine not to exceed $200.00 and is handled by police citation, while a subsequent or repeated violation subjects the violator to arrest and a fine up to $500.00 and/or six months in the municipal jail, with each morning or night of noise counted as a separate offense.

Section 62-104 lets the city manager waive the requirement in an emergency or for a commission-approved special occasion, but no blanket exemption exists for commercial delivery schedules.