Kent County, DE Noise Ordinances: Aircraft Noise (2026)

Kent County's noise ordinance treats aircraft noise as federally and state preempted rather than locally capped. Section 161-2B(1)(c), part of the chapter's 'Motor vehicles, horns and motor vehicle signaling devices' subsection, states that all aircraft and railroads operating within Kent County shall comply with all applicable federal and state noise regulations, meaning the county enforces compliance with Federal Aviation Administration and Delaware standards rather than writing its own decibel table for planes or trains. The ordinance goes further for military traffic: § 161-4A(3), added by Ord.

No. 02-17 in 2002, exempts aircraft flying to and from Dover Air Force Base from the chapter's noise level regulations entirely, reflecting the base's presence within county borders and the operational reality that jets based there routinely exceed the ambient noise thresholds set for civilian sources in § 161-5. Residents near approach and departure corridors therefore cannot use Chapter 161 to cite the base or its contractors for engine or overflight noise; any relief would have to come through federal channels or state aviation regulation rather than the county's Division of Inspections and Enforcement, which otherwise enforces § 161-2's noise disturbances under § 161-3.