Amherst, NY Noise Ordinances: Aircraft Noise (2026)

Chapter 138's catalog of prohibited noise acts includes a narrow aircraft provision inside § 138-5N: it is a violation to make noise for advertising purposes in any street or public place or by means of aircraft, grouped in the same clause with sound trucks, horns, megaphones, sirens, bells and radios used to hawk a business, article or profession on a street, sidewalk or building entrance. Read together with the rest of § 138-5N, the aircraft reference targets aerial advertising, a banner-towing or skywriting plane broadcasting a commercial pitch over the Town, not the routine overflight, takeoff or landing noise generated by fixed-wing traffic near the University at Buffalo's North Campus or general aviation using Buffalo-area airports.

Federal law occupies that broader field: the Federal Aviation Administration controls flight paths, altitudes and aircraft noise certification, so a town noise chapter cannot lawfully restrict how loud a passing plane may be or when it may fly. Amherst's own code reflects that limit by never attempting a decibel or curfew rule for aircraft generally; § 138-5N is the only aircraft-specific clause in the entire chapter, and it is confined to advertising use. A violation is enforced the same way as every other § 138-5 act: the Amherst Police Department, under § 138-7B, investigates and cites, and § 138-8 sets the penalty for a proven violation.