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Champaign, IL Noise from Specific Sources: Generator Noise (2026)

Some Restrictions
Compiled from the official code textEditor Martyn O'NeillLast verified September 2026

Key Facts

Governing section
Sec. 25-66.1(c)(7), Champaign Municipal Code
Decibel cap
75 decibels at 10 feet
Applies to
Mobile food truck generators and music
Where it applies
Central Business District vending areas only
Citywide noise code
Ch. 21 uses audibility, not decibels
Adopted
C.B. No. 2015-018, effective 2-17-15

Summary

Champaign's only decibel-based noise standard sits inside its mobile food truck rules: Section 25-66.1(c)(7) caps noise from a truck's generators and music at 75 decibels measured from ten feet away. The citywide general noise chapter otherwise polices sound by audibility and time of day, not by a decibel number.

(c)Provisions for Operation of a Mobile Food Truck. No person shall operate a Mobile Food Truck except in accordance with the following provisions:...(7)Noise from Mobile Food Trucks, including but limited to generators and music, shall not exceed 75 decibels as measured from 10 feet away.

View official code

Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 80).

Full Breakdown

1 regulates Mobile Food Trucks operating in the Central Business District, and subsection (c)(7) is the City's one numeric decibel limit anywhere in the Municipal Code: noise from a truck's generators or music may not exceed 75 decibels measured from ten feet away. operating window, a four-hour maximum stay per vending spot with a two-hour cooldown before returning, and a ban on tents, tables or extra parked vehicles inside the designated vending area. window. 1(c)(7) the only decibel-specific noise rule Champaign has adopted, and it applies only to trucks vending in the marked Central Business District areas the City Manager establishes and signs under subsection (b). B. No. 2015-018, adopted February 17, 2015.

Violations & Fines

A generator or speaker running louder than 75 decibels at ten feet violates the truck's operating conditions under Section 25-66.1(c) and can be enforced as a breach of the transient merchant license requirement in subsection (d). Violations fall under the Code's general penalty, Section 1-21(c): a fine of $1 to $750 per offense, with continued noise treated as a new offense each day.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does Champaign have a citywide decibel limit for generators?
No. Chapter 21 of the Municipal Code regulates most noise by whether sound is clearly audible beyond the boundary line during set hours, not by a decibel reading. The only decibel number anywhere in the Code is the 75-decibel cap on mobile food truck generators and music in Section 25-66.1(c)(7).
How is the 75-decibel food truck limit measured?
Section 25-66.1(c)(7) measures noise from a truck's generators or music from ten feet away. If a reading at that distance shows sound exceeding 75 decibels, the truck is out of compliance with its vending-area operating conditions.
What happens if a food truck's generator is too loud?
It is a breach of the vending permit's operating conditions in Section 25-66.1(c), enforceable through the Code's general penalty in Section 1-21(c), a fine between $1 and $750 per offense, with each day of a continuing violation counted as a separate offense.

Sources & Official References

Other rules in Champaign

Parking Rules: Overnight ParkingSome RestrictionsParking Rules: RV & Boat ParkingSome RestrictionsBar & Nightclub NoiseSome RestrictionsParking Rules: Abandoned VehiclesSignificant RestrictionsParking Rules: Commercial & Oversized VehiclesSignificant RestrictionsParking Rules: Loading ZonesSome RestrictionsParking Rules: Preferential Parking DistrictsSignificant Restrictions

All Champaign rules

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