Huntington, NY Noise from Specific Sources: Generator Noise (2026)
Key Facts
- Design standard
- Walls/landscaping to cut generator noise
- Reviewing body
- Planning Board (site plan review)
- Wireless facility generator rule
- Must meet Town noise ordinance
- Cross-referenced chapters
- Ch. 194 and Ch. 141 (Noise Code)
Summary
Huntington doesn't set a generator decibel limit, but its site plan design standards direct the Planning Board to require that emergency generators and HVAC equipment be walled or landscaped to cut noise reaching residential property, and wireless facility backup generators must independently meet the Town's general noise ordinance.
Dumpsters, HVAC and utility equipment, and emergency generators should be screened from the street and residential property, by landscaping where possible. Dumpsters should be surrounded by masonry enclosures. HVAC equipment and generators should utilize walls to reduce noise transmission toward residential uses.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: rev 4940543; v75 updated 2026-06-09; through 06-09-2026).
Full Breakdown
Town Code § 198-116(C) lists the planning and design principles the Planning Board applies when reviewing site plans for commercial, industrial and multi-family projects, and subsection (3) specifically addresses generators: dumpsters, HVAC and utility equipment, and emergency generators should be screened from the street and residential property by landscaping where possible, and HVAC equipment and generators should utilize walls to reduce noise transmission toward residential uses. That standard is a design principle applied during Planning Board site plan review, not a numeric decibel cap, so its strength depends on what the Board requires for a given project.
Separately, Chapter 194 imposes a harder rule on backup generators at wireless telecommunications facilities: § 194-12 states that equipment noise, including chilling units, cooling fans, and backup generators or other power supplies, from any wireless installation can never exceed the applicable requirements of the Town noise ordinance and federal and state statutory requirements, whichever is stricter, measured at the site of the installation, and any offense against that section is a violation of both Chapter 194 and the Town's Noise Code in Chapter 141. Together, the two provisions mean a homeowner's portable generator is not directly capped by a chapter-specific decibel number, but any generator tied to a site-plan project or a wireless facility is subject to concrete, enforceable noise-mitigation and compliance requirements.
Violations & Fines
Failing to screen or wall a generator as required by an approved site plan under § 198-116 can be treated as a zoning violation subject to Chapter 198's enforcement and fine provisions. A wireless facility whose backup generator noise exceeds the Town noise ordinance is a violation of both Chapter 194 and Chapter 141, subject to the fines and penalties set in those chapters.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Huntington set a decibel limit for generators?
Do commercial projects have to screen their backup generators?
What rule applies to a generator at a cell tower or wireless site?
Is a homeowner's portable generator covered by these sections?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Huntington
New York rules heatmap·Compare Huntington to another location·View the New York noise from specific sources overview
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