Vermilion Parish, LA Noise Ordinances: Aircraft Noise (2026)

Section 26-67 of the Vermilion Parish Code lists the noise sources to which "the operational performance standards established in this article shall not apply." Item (6) is "Noise generated by aircraft operations." The exemption is unconditional as printed: unlike item (1), which excuses agricultural activities only when properly muffled, and item (9), which excuses motor vehicles only when properly muffled, item (6) carries no muffling, time or distance condition.

The same section exempts ten other sources: unamplified bells, chimes or carillons used with religious services, emergency energy release devices, emergency work, National Warning Systems (NAWAS) used to warn of attack or imminent danger such as flooding, explosion or hurricane, public celebrations, railroad surface carriers engaged in commerce, events run under a Police Jury variance, residential refuse and recycling collection, and generator noise during a power outage or routine testing.

The restricted-uses section, 26-68, applies notwithstanding section 26-67, but its seven items cover power tools, refrigerated trucks, construction, alarms, animal vocalizations and portable music devices. Aircraft are not among them. The definition of motor vehicle in section 26-63 is limited to vehicles propelled on land, so the vehicle rules do not reach aircraft either.

All of this applies only in the unincorporated area of the parish, under sections 26-63 and 26-64. A neighbor who is bothered by a helicopter, crop-spraying plane or hobby aircraft has no decibel or plainly audible standard to invoke under this article, though a separate ground such as an emergency or public-safety complaint would go to the Sheriff's Office rather than the noise article.