Charlotte County, FL Noise from Specific Sources: Generator Noise (2026)

' Sec. 2-5-131 then lists horns, sound equipment and yelling as examples, but says explicitly that list 'shall not be deemed to be exclusive,' so a generator is not exempt just because it goes unnamed. That matters after storms: Charlotte County still leans on a heavy standby-generator base built up since Hurricane Ian knocked out power across Port Charlotte, Punta Gorda's unincorporated fringes and the barrier islands in 2022, and a generator running around the clock next to an occupied home is exactly the kind of ongoing loud noise the general prohibition targets.

The ordinance's only relevant exemption, Sec. 2-5-135(4), covers construction and demolition equipment operated under the separate construction-noise-hours rule, not backup power equipment at a residence. Sec. 2-5-133 still requires a Sheriff's deputy to issue a warning before any enforcement action, and a fifteen-minute compliance window applies because generator noise is nonvehicular; only after that window closes can enforcement proceed further.