New Braunfels, TX Noise Ordinances: Aircraft Noise (2026)

Chapter 82's noise ordinance caps sound at 85 decibels daytime and 75 at night in residential districts, measured at the nearest public right-of-way, with tiered misdemeanor fines running from $100 for a first offense up to $500 for a fourth. But Section 82-9(e) lists exceptions to "any offense established in this chapter," and subsection (e)(5) removes aircraft entirely: sound "produced by aircraft in flight or in operation at an airport" cannot be cited as a violation, no matter how loud it registers on a police officer's ANSI-calibrated meter.

Where aircraft actually may operate is controlled separately, under Section 82-7: fixed-wing and rotary aircraft may take off or land only at the New Braunfels Municipal Airport (or at McKenna Memorial Hospital for medical helicopter flights, or elsewhere with advance written city manager permission for a special event). Landing outside those approved locations, not noise from a properly operating aircraft, is what carries a penalty: up to $500 per day under Section 82-7(d). So a homeowner near the flight path cannot use the city's own decibel table against overflights; FAA and state aeronautics rules, not New Braunfels Code Section 82-9, govern aircraft sound.