Gretna, LA Noise Ordinances: Amplified Music & Outdoor Sound (2026)

Gretna Code of Ordinances § 16-119, Unnecessary noise; surrender of driver's license, prohibits operating or permitting the operation of any sound amplification system that emanates unreasonably loud or excessive sound likely to cause inconvenience or annoyance to persons of ordinary sensibilities, when two conditions both exist: the system is located in or on a motor vehicle on a public street, highway, or public park, and the sound is audible at a distance greater than 25 feet and exceeds 85 decibels. Subsection (b) exempts horns, alarms, or other warning devices used to signal unsafe or dangerous situations, summon law enforcement, or that are used in conjunction with a permitted event, so a sanctioned festival or parade sound system is not swept in.

00 for a second or subsequent offense. Beyond the fine, a court may, on a first conviction, order the violator to surrender the driver's license of the driver involved for up to 30 days, and on a second or subsequent conviction, for not less than 30 nor more than 90 days; the violator is responsible for retrieving the license from the arresting or reporting law enforcement agency after the surrender period ends. Because the standard is written around vehicle-mounted systems on public streets, highways and parks specifically, it does not by its terms reach a stationary residential speaker inside a home, though a car parked on a public street with a booming stereo squarely fits the rule. The section carries forward Code 1997 § 16-119 via Ord. No. 4007, January 12, 2009.