Chesapeake, VA Noise from Specific Sources: Generator Noise (2026)

Chesapeake regulates noise citywide under Chapter 26, Article IV, but Sec. 26-141 carves generator noise out of those limits through two separate subsections. Subsection (13) exempts a 'power generation facility' outright, but only when it sits in an industrial zoning district, runs less than 2,000 cumulative hours in a calendar year, and 'causes no harm to adjacent properties or residents,' so a facility that runs longer or measurably disturbs neighbors loses the exemption and falls back under the article's general limits, which cap residential-zone sound at 55 dBA under the Table 1 standards in Sec.

26-130. Subsection (14) is broader and unconditional: any generator operated 'during power outages or under other emergency or necessary circumstances' is exempt regardless of location, hours, or decibel level, covering the portable and standby units residents and businesses run after a Hampton Roads storm knocks out power. Outside these two carve-outs, a generator running for convenience rather than an outage or genuine necessity is treated like any other noise source and must meet the article's general limits. An owner whose generator use doesn't fit either exemption can apply to the director of development and permits for a special permit under Sec. 26-142, which weighs the time, duration, volume and technical feasibility of compliance before granting relief and may attach conditions.