Arvada, CO Noise from Specific Sources: HVAC & Mechanical Noise (2026)

Section 5-1-2-3(A)(10) is Arvada's general design standard for rooftop, wall-mounted and ground-mounted mechanical equipment, flues and exterior building elements, applied to all new principal buildings, building façade redesigns, and expansions of gross square footage. Subsection (a)(i) requires rooftop mechanical equipment and appurtenances to be screened from a public street using parapets or enclosures at least as tall as the equipment, built from one of the building's predominant façade materials or colors. Subsection (a)(ii) singles out air conditioning compressors specifically: they must be completely screened, again using the building's predominant materials and colors where feasible.

Wall-mounted utility equipment and meters must be screened from public-street view and painted to blend with the façade under Subsection (a)(iv), and rooftop vents and flues on a pitched roof, or extending above the nearest parapet, must be painted a predominant building color under Subsection (a)(iii). The Director can reduce or waive screening where a substantial grade change makes it impracticable and relocating the equipment is also impracticable. Beyond screening, Subsection (b), 'Noise attenuation,' imposes a separate performance standard: any equipment, including HVAC condensers and compressors, that generates noise perceptible at the adjacent street or property line must be baffled or otherwise attenuated to direct unavoidable noise upward, away from neighboring property and the street.

This noise-attenuation duty applies regardless of whether the screening requirement is met, meaning a fully screened condenser that is still audible off-site is not automatically compliant. Section 8-4-4-3(C)(6) requires screening of roof- and wall-mounted mechanical equipment to be complete before the City signs off on a certificate of occupancy.