Salem, OR Noise from Specific Sources: Generator Noise (2026)

SRC 93.020 lists eleven specific noise disturbances by name (amplified sound, barking dogs, domestic power equipment, construction, dynamic braking, idling engines, vehicle repair, steam whistles, sirens, and pile drivers), but a generator does not fit neatly into any of them; it is not "domestic power equipment used for home or building repair, maintenance, landscaping, alteration or home manual arts projects" as SRC 93.005 defines that term. Subsection (k), the chapter's catch-all, instead makes it unlawful to operate, permit, or continue the operation of any sound source not otherwise enumerated in this section in a manner that exceeds the maximum permissible sound levels set forth in Table 51-1 of SRC chapter 51, which is exactly where an unenumerated source like a generator lands.

SRC 51.015(a) sets the underlying rule those levels enforce: it is unlawful for anyone who owns, controls or operates any sound source to cause or permit sound in excess of the maximum permissible sound levels set forth in Table 51-1 to be received on property other than property where the source is located without first obtaining an event sound permit issued pursuant to chapter 51. Table 51-1 sets separate day and night decibel ceilings depending on whether the source and the receiving property are noise-sensitive, commercial or industrial, and SRC 51.015(b) adds a ten-dBA grace band for no more than one minute in any ten-minute period. A resident running a portable generator during a power outage that stays under those levels is not violating the code; one that is loud enough to exceed them on a neighboring property, without a permit, is.