Bernalillo County, NM Noise from Specific Sources: Delivery Truck Noise (2026)

County Code § 30-123(b)(2) makes it unlawful to run the engine of any motor vehicle weighing more than four tons (8,000 pounds) for longer than two consecutive minutes while parked on private property within 150 feet of land zoned and used for residential purposes. The rule exists to stop diesel idling noise from bleeding into nearby homes, but the county built in three named exceptions: a vehicle standing inside a fully enclosed structure, a vehicle delivering perishable foods to stores, and a vehicle pouring concrete or doing emergency maintenance work.

That means a refrigerated delivery truck running its reefer unit outside a grocery store or restaurant is exempt from the two-minute cutoff, while a non-food delivery truck or a passing hauler idling in a residential driveway is not. The exemption also excludes transit buses standing in established bus turnarounds, terminals, parking lots or storage yards. This idling limit sits inside the broader vehicle-noise article, which separately caps drive-by noise from trucks over 8,000 pounds GVW at 88 dB(A) (pre-1973 manufacture) down to 86 dB(A) (post-1973) at 50 feet from the roadway centerline, and bars any person from operating a motor-driven vehicle in a manner causing discomfort or annoyance to area residents under § 30-123(b)(1). Bernalillo County's Environmental Health Department and county code enforcement handle complaints against commercial delivery operations.