Topeka, KS Noise Ordinances: Amplified Music & Outdoor Sound (2026)

TMC § 9.45.200, in Article II (Noise) of Chapter 9.45, targets a specific noise source: outdoor amplified sound used to advertise or draw attention to a business. It bans "using, operating or permitting to be played, used or operated" any of a list of devices, a radio receiving set, musical instrument, phonograph, loudspeaker or sound amplifier, "for the producing or reproducing of sound which is cast upon the public streets for the purpose of commercial advertising or attracting the attention of the public to any building or structure." Unlike the general curfew at § 9.45.190, this section carries no time window and no distance test; the trigger is the commercial-advertising purpose, so a store running a loudspeaker onto the sidewalk to pull in customers is covered any hour of the day if the sound reaches the public street.

The section traces to Code 1981 § 27-7, was renumbered Code 1995 § 54-152, and sits alongside the article's other single-purpose noise bans, including § 9.45.280, which separately bans musical instruments or devices used to attract attention "to any performance, show or sale," and § 9.45.180, which restricts horns and vehicle signaling devices. Together they show the article regulating specific noise-generating activities item by item rather than through one blanket decibel limit.

As with the rest of Chapter 9.45, § 9.45.200 sets no penalty of its own, so the citywide default applies through TMC § 9.05.020 and § 1.10.070: violation is a misdemeanor punishable by a fine of $1.00 to $499.00, up to 179 days in the City jail, or both, with each day of a continuing violation charged as a separate offense.