Jacksonville Beach, FL Noise Ordinances: Barking Dogs (2026)

Section 5-34 is the measurable noise standard in Chapter 5, Article II, Division 3 (Nuisances). It applies to the owner, or any person having temporary custody, of an animal or animals, and it covers barking, meowing, whining, howling, or other sounds common to the species. The trigger is persistently or continuously for a period of 20 minutes or longer, and the section defines the phrase: nonstop utterances for 20 consecutive minutes with individual interruptions of less than 20 seconds at a time.

The rule does not reach an animal that is contained within an enclosure sufficient to baffle loud noises and render them reasonably unobjectionable. Subsection (1) also exempts a properly permitted animal shelter established for the care or placement of unwanted or stray animals, and a properly zoned commercial boarding kennel or other animal facility.

The citation requirements are specific. Under § 5-34(2), an ACO or LEO can cite the owner or custodian when the officer has received a sworn affidavit attesting to the nuisance from at least two unrelated adult witnesses from different residences, or from one adult witness with a recorded video showing the alleged violation, or when the citing officer has witnessed the nuisance. The affidavits must come from residents within a three-block radius (approximately 900-foot radius).

Two other sections reach the same problem. Section 5-4 declares any animal or fowl that persistently makes noises a public nuisance and makes a person who keeps or aids in keeping it guilty of a misdemeanor after three days' notice from the ACO or any police or health officer to abate it. Section 5-36 makes it unlawful to permit habitual barking or other objectionable animal noises, and defines habitually as at least two separate occurrences within a time period of no more than 30 days. Under § 5-23, Chapter 5 is enforced by the city's ACOs, LEOs and code enforcement officers.