Rowlett, TX Noise Ordinances: Amplified Music & Outdoor Sound (2026)

Code of Ordinances § 22-205(2) prohibits operating or permitting the operation of any radio receiving set, musical instrument, television, phonograph, drum, or other sound-producing or reproducing device in a manner that violates the decibel limits in § 22-204 or that unreasonably disturbs or interferes with the peace, comfort, and repose of neighboring persons of ordinary sensibilities. Subsection (3) extends the same prohibition to loudspeakers or sound-amplifying equipment mounted in a fixed or movable position on any street, alley, sidewalk, park, or other public property. Both provisions are tied directly to the § 22-204 sound table, meaning enforcement does not require a formal decibel reading if the sound instead unreasonably disturbs a neighbor of ordinary sensibilities, giving officers two independent tests to cite a violation.

The article's enforcement authority runs through the department of planning and environmental services, which can inspect property with the owner's authorization when a complaint is reasonably suspected under § 22-209, and a property owner facing a violation can seek a director-approved variance with a compliance schedule under § 22-208, appealable to the environmental services board within 30 days. The noise measurement itself must be taken with a Type II or better sound level meter using the A-weighting network per ANSI standards (§ 22-203), and readings are taken five feet above the property boundary of the receiving land use under § 22-204(a). violates both the decibel table and § 22-205(2) simultaneously.