Bellevue, NE Noise Ordinances: Amplified Music & Outdoor Sound (2026)

Section 20-16(A)(1) sets an objective, distance-based test rather than a decibel meter: if a radio, horn, drum, speaker, stereophonic sound system, signaling device or phonograph is plainly audible to a person more than 50 feet from where it is playing, the operator is in violation regardless of the device's rated volume. The section carves out two exceptions: a signaling device or horn used as a danger warning, and a horn or signaling device used at a sporting event or school function in connection with that event.

Subsection (A)(2) adds a separate, subjective standard for residential areas, prohibiting the use of a radio, musical instrument, phonograph or other sound-producing device in a manner that disturbs the quiet and comfort of neighboring residents, which reaches situations that might fall under the 50-foot line but still bother next-door neighbors. Subsection (B) lets the city council waive the whole section for a specific public-use-facility event after a written application to the city clerk is heard at a regular council meeting and the council finds the waiver serves the public interest, covering things like a concert or festival that would otherwise violate the rule.

As with most of Chapter 20 Article I, no separate fine is written into § 20-16, so a violation is punished under § 1-11's general penalty of up to $500.00 or six months in jail.