Pottstown, PA Noise Ordinances: Barking Dogs (2026)

Pottstown does not have a standalone animal-noise ordinance. Instead the rule sits inside the disorderly conduct part of the Borough code, which changes how it works in practice. Section 301 defines disorderly conduct broadly as any act, work or conduct causing or tending to cause a disturbance of the peace and good order of the Borough, or causing or tending to cause any danger, discomfort or annoyance to the inhabitants. Section 302 then lists particular conduct that is declared to constitute disorderly conduct, and subsection A is the animal-noise rule: the keeping or handling of dogs or other animals, chickens or other fowl or birds under such conditions, or lack of control, or in such a manner that by barking, crowing or otherwise they disturb the peace, safety and quiet of the immediate neighborhood.

Three things follow from that drafting. First, the standard is DISTURBANCE OF THE IMMEDIATE NEIGHBORHOOD, not a decibel reading or a fixed number of minutes of barking, there is no measured threshold to point to. Second, it reaches far beyond dogs: chickens, other fowl and birds are named expressly, and crowing is called out alongside barking, so a rooster is covered on the same terms. Third, the section says it applies without limiting the general definition in section 301, so conduct that disturbs the peace can still be disorderly even if it does not fit subsection A neatly.

The same section 302 also covers neighbouring nuisances a reader may be looking for: subsection B addresses sound amplification equipment, audible electronic devices, singing, shouting and musical instruments at inappropriate times, and subsection C addresses loading, unloading and delivery of materials at times of day or night that unnecessarily disturb the peace and quiet of the immediate neighborhood.