Bowie, MD Noise from Specific Sources: Low-Frequency Bass Limits (2026)

Bowie's noise ordinance, City Code Chapter 13, treats bass-heavy sound as regulated noise regardless of whether the underlying song is identifiable. Section 13-1 defines "plainly audible" broadly: an enforcement officer does not need to name the song or the artist, and the code states outright that detecting the rhythmic bass component of music is enough to prove the sound is plainly audible. That definition feeds directly into § 13-2, which bars any noise or sound amplifier operated on a property at a level above the maximum decibel table and that is plainly audible past the property line: 60 dBA in the daytime (7:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m.) and 50 dBA at night for residential land use, 67/62 dBA for commercial land use, and a flat 75 dBA for industrial land use.

Officers measure from the property line of the source or, with the owner's permission, from the adjacent lot. The same "plainly audible" bass standard also underlies the separate rule in § 13-3.A(14) capping vehicle stereo noise at 50 feet. Violations of § 13-2 are municipal infractions under § 13-6, and § 13-6.B makes each hour a violation continues a separate, additional offense, so an all-night bass-heavy party can generate multiple citations rather than one.