Janesville, WI Noise Ordinances: Aircraft Noise (2026)

Section 42-563(2) requires that applicants for a permit-required use inside the Airport Overlay Zoning District (AOZD) accept, by recorded affidavit, responsibility for mitigating 'noise sensitivity,' with three listed mitigation tools: insulating the structure or land use to reduce noise impacts, using airport-compatible landscaping material to mitigate noise exposure, and shifting the structure or land use to a more compatible location on the site. That affidavit must be signed and recorded with the Rock County Register of Deeds before the use begins. Under Section 42-560(f)(3), the Community Development Director must weigh the 'potential for noise sensitivity' as one of the standard factors when deciding whether to approve, condition or deny a zoning/building site permit application anywhere within the AOZD, alongside density, visual obstructions and wildlife-attraction concerns.

The AOZD covers a three-mile radius around the Southern Wisconsin Regional Airport and layers Zones A through D onto the City's normal residential and business zoning, so a lot that is otherwise unrestricted under Chapter 42's district rules can still face a noise-mitigation condition solely because it falls inside the overlay. Section 42-561 confirms that use variances and height variances are never available under this article, so a project cannot bargain its way out of the noise-sensitivity review by seeking a variance; it can only appeal the Director's determination to the Plan Commission.