Granville County, NC Noise from Specific Sources: Generator Noise (2026)

Granville County's Unnecessary Noise ordinance, adopted by the board of commissioners on October 4, 1993 (Ord. of 10-4-1993) and codified at Code § 26-31, opens by declaring that the creation of any unreasonably loud, disturbing and unnecessary noise is prohibited anywhere in the unincorporated county. Subsection (b)(7) singles out engine exhaust: the discharge into the open air of the exhaust of any steam engine or stationary internal combustion engine, among other engines, is a violation unless it passes through a muffler or other device which will effectively prevent loud or explosive noises.

That covers portable and standby generators, pressure washers, farm engines and similar stationary equipment run outdoors on a residential or business lot in unincorporated Granville County; Oxford, Creedmoor, Butner and Stem run their own noise codes and are not covered here. There is no listed decibel ceiling or run-time exemption in the text; the standard is simply that the exhaust must be effectively muffled. Because Chapter 26 sets no chapter-specific penalty for this subsection, enforcement falls to the county's general penalty and citation procedure at Code § 1-6: the appropriate county official issues a civil citation giving the violator 15 days to correct the noise and pay before the county sues in civil court for the penalty as a debt.

Under § 1-6(c), willfully refusing to pay an imposed civil penalty is itself a misdemeanor under G.S. 14-4, punishable by up to a $500.00 fine or 30 days in jail, or both, and each day the unmuffled exhaust continues is a separate violation.