Tucson, AZ Noise Ordinances: Aircraft Noise (2026)

Tucson's Airport Environs Zone (AEZ) overlays land near Tucson International Airport (TIA) and Davis-Monthan Air Force Base (DMAFB) with noise control districts keyed to measured aircraft noise exposure, expressed as a day-night average sound level (Ldn). 6 draws two bands: Noise Control District-65 (NCD-65) and the noisier NCD-70. 0, to bring the interior noise level down to an Ldn of 45 or less before occupancy. A manufactured home only counts as the equivalent of a site-built single-family home in these districts if it sits on MH-1 or MH-2 zoned land, or if the owner demonstrates it independently meets that same Ldn 45 interior standard.

Both districts flatly prohibit new Day Care uses, and NCD-70 goes further, also barring new elementary and secondary schools outright, reflecting how incompatible continuous classroom or infant-care noise exposure is judged to be that close to flight paths. NCD-70 also pushes uses like civic assembly, cultural facilities, postsecondary schools, entertainment venues, major medical services, and swap meets into a Special Exception Land Use process that requires notifying both the Tucson Airport Authority and Davis-Monthan Air Force Base. 9, applies the same Ldn-based sound-attenuation logic (a 25-decibel interior reduction) to property in the DMAFB Environs, with its own prohibited-use lists for civic, educational, and medical uses.