Mount Pleasant, SC Noise Ordinances: Aircraft Noise (2026)
Key Facts
- Governing section
- Mount Pleasant Code § 132.03(G)(10)
- Effect
- Aircraft/airport noise exempt from § 132.03
- Scope
- Any aircraft; any airport operation
- Local penalty
- None under the noise ordinance
- Regulating authority
- Federal aviation law, not town code
Summary
The Town of Mount Pleasant does not regulate aircraft noise under its town noise ordinance. Town Code § 132.03(G)(10) carves out an express exception for 'noise generated by any aircraft or generated in connection with the operation of any airport,' leaving that noise outside the § 132.03 framework entirely.
(G) Exceptions. This section shall not apply to the following sources: ... (10) Noise generated by any aircraft or generated in connection with the operation of any airport;
Full Breakdown
' That means none of the ordinance's tools apply to aircraft overflight or airport operations: not the numeric decibel caps in division (C), not the plainly-audible tests used for music, amplified sound, and building noise in division (E), and not the sound-level-meter measurement procedure in division (B). The exemption sits alongside other carve-outs in the same list, such as emergency warning devices on police, fire, and ambulance vehicles, lawn care equipment during set daytime hours, and sounds tied to town-permitted special events, all of which are treated as outside the scope of this section rather than merely excused from penalty.
Because the exemption is written broadly to cover 'any aircraft' and anything 'in connection with the operation of any airport,' it reaches everything from a single small plane to sustained air traffic near Charleston-area airfields. 03 to bring an aircraft noise complaint to the Mount Pleasant Police Department; federal aviation authority, not town ordinance, governs that airspace.
Violations & Fines
Because § 132.03(G)(10) places aircraft and airport-related noise outside the section entirely, no violation, fine, or citation under the town noise ordinance applies to it. The $500 fine and 30-day imprisonment penalty in § 132.03(H) governs the other prohibited-noise categories in the section but has no application here.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I file a noise complaint against aircraft in Mount Pleasant?
Does the aircraft noise exemption cover airport ground operations too?
Why doesn't Mount Pleasant regulate aircraft noise locally?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Mount Pleasant
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