Tempe, AZ Noise Ordinances: Aircraft Noise (2026)

General Code Sec. " The same exemption extends to any aircraft operating under technical difficulties, in any kind of distress, under emergency orders of air traffic control, or operating pursuant to and subsequent to the declaration of an emergency under federal air regulations. In practice this means Tempe's Chapter 20, which otherwise regulates unnecessary noise, special noise sources, construction hours, and vehicle noise, has no independent authority over aircraft noise from operations near Phoenix Sky Harbor's flight paths or the general aviation traffic using Phoenix Deer Valley or Scottsdale airports; the FAA's regulatory framework and any flight-path or curfew agreements between the FAA and specific airports control instead.

The section traces to Code 1967, § 19A-8, and was last carried forward without substantive change by Ordinance No. 10 on March 3, 2022, the same 2022 ordinance that reorganized much of Chapter 20's exemptions and repealed the old decibel-measurement sections.