Springdale, AR Noise Ordinances: Aircraft Noise (2026)

Aircraft noise in Springdale sits inside a federal-preemption framework, not the local Chapter 42 ordinance. Under 49 U.S.C. Section 40103, the United States has 'exclusive sovereignty of airspace,' and the Supreme Court in City of Burbank v. Lockheed Air Terminal, 411 U.S. 624 (1973), held that federal law preempts even time-of-day curfews imposed by a non-proprietor host municipality. The proper framework is the FAA's 14 CFR Part 150 Airport Noise Compatibility Planning program, voluntarily entered by airport operators. XNA is operated by the Northwest Arkansas Regional Airport Authority, a body created under A.C.A. Section 14-362-101 et seq., on which Bentonville, Fayetteville, Rogers, Siloam Springs, Springdale, and Benton County each appoint members. XNA itself sits in Highfill (Benton County), opened in November 1998, and is not within Springdale city limits - the closest Springdale residents are roughly 10 nautical miles southeast of the airport reference point. Low-flying complaints alleging violations of 14 CFR Section 91.119 minimum altitudes go to the FAA Little Rock Flight Standards District Office (FSDO). Civilian helicopter, medevac (Mercy and Washington Regional both operate medevac), and law-enforcement air operations are independently authorized under federal regulations and exempt from local time-of-day rules. Springdale Municipal Airport (former 9A4 / now decommissioned) does not handle commercial traffic. Local airport-zoning constraints can be applied through Springdale's zoning code (Part 77 imaginary-surface protection), but those address structure height, not aircraft operations.