Framingham, MA Noise Ordinances: Barking Dogs (2026)

Section 332-4C(9) sits inside Chapter 332's list of nuisance noises barred during the ordinance's defined nighttime hours: 10:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m. Sunday through Thursday and 11:00 p.m. to 8:00 a.m. on Friday and Saturday. It bars "the keeping of any animal or bird which frequently and for continued periods of time causes a condition of noise," language broad enough to reach a chronically barking dog, a crowing rooster, or any other pet whose noise repeats over time rather than being an isolated bark. A complaint goes to the Framingham Police Department under § 332-11, where an investigating officer, defined in § 332-8 as the chapter's "reasonable person," gathers information and prepares a written report if the circumstances support a violation of § 332-4.

If the report confirms a violation, § 332-12 sets the penalty schedule: a first violation draws only a written warning describing the problem and, at the investigator's discretion, a deadline to stop or reduce the noise; a second violation of the same issue within twelve months draws a $100 fine; and any further violation within that twelve-month period draws a $300 fine. Each act that continues, or recurs more than an hour after notice, counts as a separate offense. If the noisy animal is kept on rental property the tenant does not own, § 332-12E requires the City to notify the property owner in writing of the violation.

An owner cited under this section can appeal to a City-appointed hearing officer within 30 days under § 332-13, which allows the hearing officer to reduce or reject the penalty.