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

Section 8.48.020(B)(6), Loading and Unloading Operations, specifically prohibits the loading, unloading, opening, closing and other handling of boxes, crates, containers, building materials, garbage cans or similar objects in residential areas between 10:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m. the following day, extended to 9:00 a.m. when the next day is a Sunday or legal holiday. The provision reaches delivery vehicles, moving trucks and refuse haulers alike, since it covers the physical handling noise of crates and containers rather than the vehicle itself. It is narrower than the general late-night curfew that applies to radios and loudspeakers, § 8.48.020(B)(2) and (B)(3), which run from 9:00 p.m., because loading noise gets an extra hour before the restriction begins.

The clause applies only in residential areas, so a commercial or industrial loading dock outside a residential zone is not covered by this specific subsection, though it remains subject to the general nuisance-noise ban in § 8.48.020(A) if the sound is excessive enough to disturb neighbors. Quiet zones designated under § 8.48.030, such as those around hospitals or schools, layer additional protection regardless of zoning. Enforcement of loading-noise complaints falls to the department of health, welfare and housing (bureau of health) and the police department under the concurrent-jurisdiction rule in § 8.48.060.