Ridgewood, NJ Noise Ordinances: Amplified Music & Outdoor Sound (2026)

The Village of Ridgewood in Bergen County, New Jersey does not print a decibel limit for music. Instead, Article VIII of Chapter 156 attaches a flat equipment ban to the outdoor cafe license. Section 156-88 says the licensee shall not direct or permit to be directed to or from the area occupied by the outdoor cafe any bell, chime, siren, whistle, loudspeaker, public address system, radio, sound amplifier or similar device. The wording runs in both directions, so a speaker aimed out at the sidewalk and a device aimed into the cafe are equally prohibited, and the licensee is answerable whether it operates the device or only permits someone else to.

The ban attaches to the cafes that Article VIII licenses. Under § 156-66 that program covers outdoor cafes in the B-1 and B-2 Zones, and § 156-67 defines an outdoor cafe as an eating establishment serving food or refreshments outside its interior, either on the public sidewalk in front of the restaurant or on private property where Chapter 190 permits it. Section 156-88 is confined to the area occupied by the outdoor cafe, so it does not itself speak to sound played inside the restaurant.

Time limits sit beside the equipment ban. Section 156-89 provides that no outdoor cafe shall be open for business before 7:00 a.m. or remain open after 12:00 midnight, and that all persons occupying the cafe must vacate no later than 12:30 a.m. Section 156-85 lets cafes operate 12 months a year, from January 1 to December 31, so the sound restriction applies in every month rather than in a summer season only.

Enforcement is shared. Section 156-92 assigns Article VIII to the Department of Buildings and Inspections, the Department of Health, the Engineering Division, the Fire Prevention Bureau and the Police Department. Music from a patio also runs into the Village's separate nighttime rules: § 172-6A(18) declares the loud playing of radios, bands or music after 11:00 p.m. a nuisance, and § 201-1 prohibits unreasonable and unnecessary loud or disturbing noise in the Village.