Janesville, WI Noise Ordinances: Amplified Music & Outdoor Sound (2026)

Section 24-443 sits in Article III, Division 4 (Disturbing the Peace), alongside the City's other public-peace offenses: prowling under Section 24-446, obstructing a public way under Section 24-447, and the crowd-dispersal rule in Section 24-449. The noise section itself has two clauses: a general ban on 'any unnecessary and annoying noise,' and a specific ban on using 'sound amplifiers or other instruments' to make or emit 'loud or raucous noises in the public streets, public parks or other public places.' The ordinance does not set a decibel limit or a curfew hour; violations turn on whether the noise is unnecessary, annoying, loud or raucous under the circumstances, which the Janesville Police Department assesses when responding to a complaint about a speaker, PA system, car stereo or other amplified sound outdoors.

Section 24-452 supplies the penalty schedule shared by the whole Disturbing the Peace division: a forfeiture of $50 to $150 for a first violation within 12 months, $100 to $250 for a second, $150 to $500 for a third, and $250 to $1,000 for a fourth or subsequent violation, each with court costs, fees and assessments added. A violator who does not pay the forfeiture faces up to 90 days in the county jail, and the City may seek an injunction to stop a continuing pattern of amplified noise.