Bayonne, NJ Noise from Specific Sources: Low-Frequency Bass Limits (2026)

City Code § 3-1.1 defines PLAINLY AUDIBLE as any sound a person can detect with unaided hearing, and the definition addresses bass directly: when the source under investigation is a portable or personal vehicular sound amplification device, "detection of the rhythmic bass component of the music is sufficient to verify plainly audible sound." The Noise Control Officer does not need to identify the title, lyrics, or artist, removing the usual evidentiary hurdle in bass-noise complaints. This definition feeds directly into the operative limits at § 3-1.8b(6) and § 3-1.8b(7): personal or commercial vehicular music amplification cannot be plainly audible at a residential property line between 10:00 p.m. and 8:00 a.m., and personal vehicular amplification cannot be plainly audible 50 feet from the vehicle between 8:00 a.m. and 10:00 p.m.

Portable hand-held speakers on a public street or sidewalk face the same 50-foot daytime threshold and must be inaudible to anyone but the operator overnight. Enforcement runs through the Noise Control Officer or the Police Department under § 3-1.9 and § 3-1.10, which authorize an enforcement document, a hearing in Bayonne Municipal Court, and, on conviction, the Chapter 1 § 1-5 general penalty: up to $1,250 or 90 days, with a $100 minimum where the Council sets one and each day of a continuing violation charged as a separate offense.