Renton, WA Noise Ordinances: Aircraft Noise (2026)

RMC 4-3-020 sets the City's airport-related noise and use controls. Subsection A establishes the Airport Influence Area, covering all land within Safety Zones 1 through 6 of Renton Municipal Airport. 6 flatly prohibits noise-sensitive uses, such as housing, schools, and hospitals, from locating within the 65 DNL (day-night average sound level) or higher noise contour mapped in subsection H. Subsection C also lets the City condition places of public assembly by frequency and time of use, condition residential density, and restrict bird attractants like uncovered dumpsters within the Airport Influence Area, since those factors interact with noise-sensitive siting decisions near flight paths.

Beyond the outright siting ban, subsection E imposes notice and easement duties on development within the Airport Influence Area. Land Use Permit Master Applications there must include an engineer's or surveyor's certification that the project will not penetrate FAA Part 77 navigable airspace. 2 requires a disclosure notice on the land title whenever affected property is subdivided or receives a conditional use, special use, building, or other SEPA-nonexempt permit, specifically flagging noise, low overhead flights, and nighttime aviation operations. 3 requires the owner to grant the City an avigation easement, approved by the City Attorney before recording.

Applicants must also submit a construction schedule ahead of building permit issuance so cranes and other tall equipment don't penetrate protected airspace without coordination. The rules trace to Ordinance 5029 (2003) and Ordinance 5100 (2004), which added the mapped Airport Influence Area, the Part 77 surfaces, and the annual average noise exposure map referenced in subsections F through H.