Hanover County, VA Noise from Specific Sources: Low-Frequency Bass Limits (2026)

Section 16-8(7) targets car-audio and portable-sound-system noise specifically: operating or permitting the operation of any radio, tape player, compact disc player or other device for the production of sound on a public right-of-way or in a public place in such a way that the sound is plainly audible at a distance of fifty feet from the device, whether or not it sits inside a motor vehicle. The fifty-foot test applies wherever the vehicle or speaker sits on a public street, road shoulder or other public place in Hanover County outside the Town of Ashland; it is a stand-alone listed disturbance under Section 16-8, so a code-enforcement official does not have to separately prove the sound was unreasonable, only that it carried fifty feet.

A related but broader standard sits in Section 16-10, which sets maximum sound-pressure limits by zoning district measured at the receiving property: 52 dB(A) at night and 57 dB(A) during the day in agricultural and residential zones, 62/67 dB(A) in commercial zones, and a flat 77 dB(A) around the clock in industrial zones; a bass-heavy stereo carrying onto a neighboring residential lot above those numbers is a separate violation even off the public right-of-way. Section 16-9 separately caps sound at 90 dB(A) inside places of public entertainment or assembly unless a hearing-impairment warning sign is posted. Enforcement of any of these follows Section 16-5.