Rogers, AR Noise Ordinances: Aircraft Noise (2026)

Aircraft noise is one area where the City of Rogers' noise ordinance does not, and legally cannot, control the noise source. Federal law preempts local regulation of aircraft operations and noise: under the Federal Aviation Act and the Noise Control Act of 1972, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) sets aircraft noise standards, flight rules, and routing. The U.S. Supreme Court confirmed this in City of Burbank v. Lockheed Air Terminal (1973), striking down a municipal nighttime jet curfew and holding that federal law preempts local authority over aircraft operations and noise. As a result, Rogers cannot pass or enforce an ordinance limiting overhead flight noise, imposing curfews, or restricting flight paths; the city's Chapter 18 noise provisions apply to ground-based sources like vehicles, loudspeakers, animals, and amplified music, not to aircraft in flight. Residents bothered by airplane or helicopter noise should direct complaints to the FAA or the operating airport rather than to city hall. Limited local authority remains for noise from the ground (such as land-use and zoning decisions and noise from ground equipment at an airport the city might own), but in-flight aircraft noise itself is a federal matter. There is no Rogers fine or penalty for aircraft noise because the city has no jurisdiction to regulate it.