York County, VA Noise from Specific Sources: HVAC & Mechanical Noise (2026)

Section 16-19.5(f) is a conditional exception, not a blanket exemption. It excuses sound necessary for the protection or preservation of property or the health, safety, life or limb of any person, including sound generated by the normal operation of any air conditioning, refrigeration or heating equipment, from the noise ordinance's specific prohibitions and decibel tables. But the same subsection immediately narrows that protection: if an air conditioning, refrigeration or heating unit is found to exceed the maximum permissible sound pressure levels set in Sec. 16-19.3, the equipment loses the exception unless, within fifteen days of receiving a written notice of violation, the owner provides the York County Sheriff a written certificate from a repair agent duly certified by the equipment's manufacturer.

That certificate must state, based on a personal inspection made after the notice, that the equipment was found correctly installed and operating properly. In effect, a homeowner or business cited for a loud HVAC compressor or condenser has a fifteen-day window to document proper installation and operation through the manufacturer's certified technician, or the unit falls back under the numeric limits of Sec. 16-19.3, which cap outdoor residential noise at 65 dB(A) by day and 55 dB(A) overnight. This exception, adopted with the rest of Sec.

16-19.5 by Ord. No. 10-8(R-1) on January 18, 2011, is one of twelve listed exceptions and is the only one naming a specific enforcement agency, the York County Sheriff, by title rather than referring generically to the county administrator.