Chicopee, MA Noise from Specific Sources: Low-Frequency Bass Limits (2026)

Chicopee's noise chapter, Chapter 200, was adopted by the Board of Aldermen, now the City Council, on 5-21-1996 as Ord. No. 96-33. The rule that reaches thumping car stereos and portable speakers is § 200-4, Boom boxes and audio equipment. It does not measure bass or any frequency band. It targets any person who creates an unreasonably loud noise through amplification sound devices, and it names a boom box, radio amplification, and any audio, stereo, cassette player or radio in a parked or moving motor vehicle.

The fine ladder is fixed by the ordinance. A first offense costs $50. A second offense within a one-year period costs $100, and a third or subsequent offense within a one-year period costs $300. Those second and third tiers were set by Ord. No. 00-23 on 2-15-2000, with the third tier also touched by Ord. No. 00-31 on 3-21-2000.

What counts as unreasonably loud is defined in § 200-4(B), which was amended 2-23-2023 by Ord. No. 23-3. A sound is unreasonable when it is greater than 50 decibels between 11:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m., or 70 decibels at other times, measured at the property line of where the noise originates. Any sound discernible at a distance of 100 feet also qualifies. The exception is sound authorized by a permit or license from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts or the City, or by permission of the Chief of Police.

Enforcement sits with three departments under § 200-6: the Chicopee Police Department, the Chicopee Building Department and the Chicopee Health Department. The $25 per day fine in § 200-6 is tied to §§ 200-2, 200-3 and 200-5, so § 200-4 stands on its own $50, $100 and $300 scale. Chapter 200 does not apply to an organ, radio, bell, chimes or other instrument used by a church, synagogue or school (§ 200-1). Separately, § 200-3(H) requires a special permit from the Chief of Police before anyone uses a drum, loudspeaker or similar device to attract attention to an election campaign, performance, show or sale.