Longmont, CO Noise from Specific Sources: Delivery Truck Noise (2026)
Key Facts
- Residential buffer
- 250 feet
- Restricted hours
- 10 p.m.-7 a.m.
- Grocery exception
- retail grocery store loading exempt
- Refuse trucks
- banned 7 p.m.-7 a.m. within 500 ft
- Enforcement
- general-penalty citation + nuisance suit
Summary
Longmont Municipal Code § 10.20.100(D)(2) bars truck or rail loading and unloading within 250 feet of a residential lot between 10 p.m. and 7 a.m., with a carve-out letting retail grocery stores load overnight; a separate rule bans refuse-truck loading between 7 p.m. and 7 a.m. within 500 feet of a residential zone.
D.Additional noise standards and exemptions for specific operations and activities.1.Refuse collection/loading. No person shall engage in waste disposal services or refuse loading and collection or operate any compacting equipment or similar mechanical device in any manner so as to create any noise exceeding the standards stated above when measured at a distance of 50 feet from the equipment when inside of or within 500 feet of a residential zone. No refuse loading or collection shall take place between the hours of 7:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m.2.Truck/rail loading. Except for truck loading at retail grocery stores, no truck or rail loading or unloading is allowed within 250 feet of a residential lot between the hours of 10:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m.
Full Breakdown
Subsection (D)(2) of the maximum-permissible-noise section, headed "Truck/rail loading," prohibits truck or rail loading or unloading within 250 feet of a residential lot between 10:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m., with one express exception: truck loading at retail grocery stores. The neighboring subsection (D)(1), "Refuse collection/loading," imposes a related but separate restriction on garbage trucks and compacting equipment: no refuse loading or collection is allowed between 7:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m., and the equipment can't exceed the fixed noise standards measured 50 feet away when operating inside, or within 500 feet of, a residential zone. Both restrictions sit inside the broader nighttime/daytime sound-pressure framework in § 10.20.100(A)-(B), which caps noise reaching a residential zone at 50 dB(A) overnight and 55 dB(A) by day, measured at least 25 feet from the source. Emergency conditions, and operations covered by a temporary hardship permit under subsection (G), are excused from the loading-hour limits.
Violations & Fines
Because chapter 10.20 states no separate criminal fine for a loading-noise violation, the Title 1.12.010 general penalty controls: up to a $500 fine and up to 90 days. Section 10.20.110 also deems a violation of § 10.20.100 a public nuisance, letting the city attorney sue to enjoin a business or carrier that repeatedly loads or unloads in the restricted window.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can a delivery truck unload near my house at night in Longmont?
Is there an exception for grocery deliveries?
Does the same rule cover garbage trucks?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Longmont
Compare Longmont to another location·View the Colorado noise from specific sources overview
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