Miami Beach, FL Noise Ordinances: Aircraft Noise (2026)

Sec. 46-157 lists activities that fall outside the reach of the general noise prohibition in Sec. 46-152. Item (6) exempts 'locomotives and other railroad equipment and aircraft, to the extent that city regulation is preempted by federal law,' language that tracks the doctrine that the Federal Aviation Administration and federal aviation law occupy the field of aircraft noise and flight-path regulation, leaving cities without independent authority to set decibel limits or curfews on aircraft operating in navigable airspace. The exemption sits among nine others in the same section, including emergency vehicles, permitted parades and fireworks, and authorized activity on city-owned property, all treated as noise that Sec.

46-152 does not reach. Because the carve-out is written as a recognition of federal preemption rather than a grant of local authority, Miami Beach residents dealing with helicopter tours, private aviation, or flight paths near the city have no local noise-complaint or fine process available under this article; any recourse runs through federal aviation channels rather than the city's code inspectors, special magistrate hearings, or the civil fine schedule in Sec. 46-159 that governs every other noise category in this chapter.