Ada County, ID Noise Ordinances: Aircraft Noise (2026)
Key Facts
- Aircraft exemption
- FAA-regulated aircraft exempt from noise chapter
- Influence Area A
- up to 65 dNL
- Influence Area B
- up to 70 dNL; new dwellings barred
- Influence Area B-1 density
- 5 dwelling units per acre max
- Approach zone population cap
- 40/acre indoors, 75/acre outdoors
- Required before permit
- filed avigation easement with airport
Summary
Aircraft and other FAA-regulated planes are expressly exempted from Ada County's general noise ordinance, so residents cannot cite Chapter 13 to stop overflight noise near Boise Air Terminal. Instead, the county manages aircraft noise through the Boise Air Terminal Airport Influence Areas (BAT) Overlay District, which caps residential density and requires an avigation easement before any zoning certificate issues within the mapped noise contours.
A. Exemptions: This chapter shall not apply to emergency vehicles, while acting in response to an emergency; locomotive or other railway equipment; airplanes and other FAA regulated aircraft; nor public displays of fireworks authorized and approved under chapter 26, title 39, Idaho Code. The Board may grant other exemptions to the ordinance after approval of a resolution that includes a rationale explaining why the exemption is warranted. An exemption to the ordinance shall consider factors, including but not limited to:
1. The historical timeframe of the activity(s);
2. The surrounding land use when the activity(s) began;
3. The number of people served by the activity(s);
4. The benefit of the activity(s) to the community;
5. The adverse impact on the existing activity(s) to comply with ordinance;
6. The time of day the activity(s) begins;
7. The duration of the activity(s), i.e. seasonal or continuous; and
8. Whether reasonable alternative locations exist to host the activity(s).
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: 2026 S-15: Code current through: Ord. 1018, passed 3-24-2026).
Full Breakdown
M. Aircraft noise near the airport is instead addressed through land use planning under Section 8-2-24, the Boise Air Terminal Airport Influence Areas (BAT) Overlay District, adopted consistent with the FAA's Part 150 noise compatibility study for the airport. That overlay divides land around the airport into Influence Area A (up to 65 dNL), Area B (up to 70 dNL), Area B-1 (60 dNL while acknowledging existing residential uses) and Area C (over 75 dNL). Before Development Services will issue a zoning certificate inside any influence area, the property owner must file an avigation easement with Boise Air Terminal.
New residential subdivisions in Area B-1 are capped at five dwelling units per acre, new dwellings are barred outright in Area B unless the comprehensive plan already designates the parcel residential, and no increase in residential density is permitted anywhere in Area B. Inside runway approach zones the code also caps population density at forty people per acre inside a structure and seventy-five people per acre outdoors, and bars explosive manufacturing, flammable storage, hospitals, schools, event centers and similar high-occupancy or hazardous uses outright. The overlay's boundaries are adopted on the County Zoning Map under Section 8-2-4 and are on file with the Ada County Development Services Department.
Violations & Fines
Aircraft noise itself carries no county penalty because Chapter 13 does not apply to FAA-regulated aircraft. Violating the BAT Overlay's development standards, building without the required avigation easement, or exceeding the Area B-1 density cap can result in denial or revocation of a zoning certificate by the Development Services Department, with appeals heard by the Ada County Board of Commissioners. Separately, any non-aircraft noise violation under Chapter 13 is a misdemeanor punishable under Idaho Code section 18-113.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can Ada County cite someone for loud aircraft near Boise Air Terminal?
What is the BAT Overlay District?
Do I need anything special to build near Boise Air Terminal?
Are new houses allowed in Influence Area B?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Ada County
Compare Ada County to another location·View the Idaho noise ordinances overview
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