Flagstaff, AZ Noise from Specific Sources: Low-Frequency Bass Limits (2026)

Flagstaff City Code § 6-08-001-0006(A)(2) reaches the low-frequency bass complaint specifically: it is unlawful to operate or permit the operation of a vehicle sound amplification system that can be heard at a distance of 50 feet or more and that either annoys or disturbs a reasonable person of normal sensitivities, or causes a person 50 feet or more away to become aware of vibration accompanying the sound, the classic thumping-bass symptom that carries through car doors, walls and pavement even when the melody itself is inaudible.

This 'vibration' clause is distinct from the general 'annoy or disturb' standard in subsection (A)(1) and does not require proof that the sound itself was loud, only that the vibration was perceptible at 50 feet. The same five exemptions apply as to the rest of the section: emergency calls, authorized emergency vehicles, utility company vehicles, vehicles operating within a City event permit's sound limits, and systems on private property, with the owner's consent, that cannot be heard past the property line. No decibel meter reading is required to establish a violation of the vibration clause; an officer's observation that vibration was perceptible 50 feet from the vehicle is enough.

As with the rest of § 6-08-001-0006, the section carries no fee schedule of its own, so the City Code's general penalty clause, § 1-04-001-0001, applies: a misdemeanor punishable by up to a $2,500 fine and up to 90 days in the Coconino County jail. Flagstaff Police enforce this provision.