Blaine, MN Noise Ordinances: Aircraft Noise (2026)

Sec. 129-19 of Blaine's zoning code is a construction standard aimed at aircraft noise near Anoka County-Blaine Airport (Janes Field). It applies to homes in two mapped areas, one bounded by 85th Avenue, Interstate 35W, 95th Avenue and the airport, and another bounded by 101st Avenue, Naples Street, 109th Avenue and Radisson Road. Builders in those areas must use two-inch by six-inch studs or better for exterior wall cavities and show that framing on the building plans. Every exterior building element also has to hit a minimum sound transmission class: walls and roof at 40 STC, windows at 30 STC, and doors at 20 STC, with manufacturer STC ratings attached to the plans for each window, door, and skylight.

The building official can accept a standard two-by-six wall and truss roof built to the state building code and state model energy code as meeting this requirement. The section also requires acoustical design features on the building plans themselves: a mechanical ventilation system that meets the state building code's fresh-air requirements without needing to open windows or doors, airtight sealing around every window and door frame, chimney caps on fireplaces, a bend in every ventilation duct except range hoods so there is no direct line of sight to the exterior, close-fitting weatherstripped doors and windows, and airtight caulking around every pipe, duct, and conduit that penetrates an exterior wall.