Otero County, NM Noise Ordinances: Amplified Music & Outdoor Sound (2026)

Section 170-1.A defines unreasonable noise as any unreasonably loud, shrill or blaring noise detrimental to the quiet, life or health of others, and Subsection A(2) specifically names "a radio, television, phonograph, musical instrument, or other sound producing device" used at a volume that disturbs the quiet, repose or comfort of anyone inside a dwelling, motel, hotel, hospital or similar building. The Sheriff's Office is the enforcing agency under § 170-3. There is no permitted-hours schedule or numeric decibel limit; the standard is whether the sound reaches and disturbs a listener in one of the named building types, which gives deputies discretion to cite based on the effect of the noise rather than a meter reading.

Section 170-1.A(4) separately covers noise made to attract attention to a performance, show, sale or display, and allows that kind of amplified announcement only with written permission from the County Commission, Sheriff or County Manager. Subsection B carves out an exception: nothing in the article stops the lawful use of farm, agricultural or industrial machinery kept in good repair, so a rural neighbor running irrigation or harvest equipment is not exposed to this section. Violations are prosecuted as petty misdemeanors in Magistrate Court under § 170-4, and the ordinance dates to Ord. No. 95-02 as amended in its entirety by Ord. No. 96-10 in 1996.