Hendersonville, TN Noise from Specific Sources: Delivery Truck Noise (2026)

Hendersonville folds delivery-truck and loading-dock noise into its general anti-noise ordinance at Title 11, Chapter 4, § 11-402, adopted by Ordinance 1970-33 in August 1970 and amended by Ordinances 1997-32 and 1997-33. Subsection (1)(j) singles out loading and unloading: 'The creation of any loud and excessive noise in connection with the loading or unloading of any vehicle or the opening and destruction of bales, boxes, crates, and other containers.' Unlike the construction-hours rule at (1)(h), this subsection carries no fixed time window, so a pallet jack, dock plate, or crate broken down loudly enough to violate the section's 'unreasonably loud, disturbing, and unnecessary noise' standard can draw a citation at any hour, not just late at night.

The only exception written into § 11-402 for vehicle noise covers government operations: § 11-402(2)(a) exempts 'any vehicle of the municipality while engaged upon necessary public business,' which covers city trucks but not UPS, FedEx, grocery, or freight-carrier deliveries. This subsection is distinct from the city's numeric commercial-noise decibel limits elsewhere in the code, which apply specific dB(A) ceilings to business equipment during set nighttime hours; § 11-402(1)(j) instead uses a nuisance-style standard tied to the loading operation itself rather than a measured sound level.

Because Chapter 4 has no standalone penalty clause, a loading-noise citation falls under the citywide $50 fine cap in § 3-302(1)(a) and the mandatory $175 court costs in § 3-302(2)(a).