Spring Hill, TN Noise from Specific Sources: Generator Noise (2026)

Spring Hill's Unnecessary Noise Standard does not have a stand-alone generator section. The word generator appears in the definition of construction activity in § 11-402(A)(10)(b), which lists "Continual use of portable generators where the electric utility will connect temporary power service" next to grading, concrete pours and the operation of pile drivers, hoists and compressors.

That placement matters because construction activity is regulated by hours. Where the project requires a city permit, construction activity is allowed Monday through Friday from 7:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. (7:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. from June 1 to August 30) and Saturday from 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. It cannot occur on Sundays and city holidays, and no work is allowed on New Year's Day, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day. A contractor needing a generator running outside those hours must get advance approval from the City Administrator or designee.

A separate exhaust rule in item (7) prohibits discharging into the open air the exhaust of any steam engine, stationary internal combustion engine, motor boat or other vehicle, except through a muffler or other device that will effectively prevent loud or explosive noises. The code does not say whether a given standby or portable generator is a stationary internal combustion engine, so the generator-specific language is the construction definition quoted here. Item (16) separately requires a muffler device on an internal combustion engine whose operation causes noise due to the explosion of operating gases or fluids.

The general standard in the opening paragraph of § 11-402(A) also applies: any loud noise that annoys, disturbs, injures or endangers the comfort, repose, health, peace or safety of others is prohibited. Emergency work is exempt from the decibel provisions in subsection (C)(5), and emergency activities of public utilities are exempt from the construction-hours rule.