Granville County, NC Noise Ordinances: Aircraft Noise (2026)

Section 32-221(d) sets the county's aircraft-noise standard as a land-use requirement rather than a noise-limit ordinance. Every general aviation airport development must be submitted with a noise impact assessment identifying the initial and 20-year projected DNL (day-night average sound level) noise contour lines, starting at 50 DNL and running to 75 DNL. The 20-year, 70-DNL contour line has to lie entirely within airport property or on industrial land that has been granted a noise easement, so the airport itself absorbs the loudest projected noise rather than pushing it onto neighboring parcels.

If the 55-DNL contour expands over time, the operator must submit a zoning and land use plan covering all land inside that 55-DNL area, showing whether it is feasible to restrict that land to nonresidential uses; airport approval turns on the airport's ability to minimize noise intrusion into existing residential areas while also not being hemmed in by new residential development. Once the 55-DNL contour is established, the county requires every rezoning that would allow residential use inside the 20-year 55-DNL line to record the noise contour on the property, with all subsequent developments and lot surveys showing the same contour and a warning that the county will not restrain future airport growth because of that residential development.

General aviation airport uses must also sit at least 1,500 feet from residential districts and schools, and the minimum site area for the use is 100 acres.