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

Sec. 14-152 of the Waukesha County Code is the park system's dedicated noise rule, and it measures amplified sound by carrying distance rather than a decibel meter. No one may operate a radio, tape or disc player, musical instrument or other mechanical or electrical sound-making, reproducing or amplifying device in a park so that it can be heard more than 15 feet away if used in a campsite area, or more than 75 feet away if used elsewhere in the park. A separate limit in subsection (b) bars any such device from being audible outside the park at all once a person is within 75 feet of the park's legal boundary, closing off the loophole of standing at the edge to broadcast into neighboring properties.

The director of parks and land use or a designee may authorize musical shows, cultural events, public gatherings and exhibitions that fall outside these limits, so permitted concerts and festivals are not capped at the same 15- or 75-foot range as everyday radio or speaker use. Outside the park system, Waukesha County has no separate decibel-based noise ordinance for unincorporated towns; disruptive or excessive sound elsewhere in the county is instead prosecuted as disorderly conduct under Sec. 13-102(c)8 and (d)8, which adopts Wis. 01 by reference and caps the forfeiture for that offense at $50 to $200 per violation, separate from the park-specific noise penalty below.