Rock Hill, SC Noise Ordinances: Barking Dogs (2026)

Section 20-162(1) lists "Animals, birds, etc." among the acts declared to be loud, disturbing noises in violation of the general noise ban in § 20-161. The operative words are "frequent or long-continued noise" that disturbs "the comfort or repose of any persons in the vicinity." Either a pattern (frequent) or a single long episode (long-continued) satisfies the first half, and the second half asks whether people nearby were actually disturbed. The ordinance does not name dogs, so the same rule reaches cats, roosters, parrots and any other animal kept in the city. The target is the keeping of the animal, which puts the responsibility on the owner or keeper rather than on the animal.

The list in § 20-162 is expressly not exclusive, so a noisy animal can also be charged under the general rule in § 20-161, which bars any unreasonably loud, disturbing noise within the corporate limits. That section tells the enforcing officer what to weigh: the level and intensity of the noise, its duration, the time of day or night, the nature of the noise, the character of the area, the zoning of the area where it originates, the reasonable expectation of quiet of the people nearby, and any previous request for abatement of noise. A neighbor who has already asked the owner to stop therefore strengthens the case.

Subsection (18) of § 20-162 adds a measured standard for residential areas: noise from any activity, open or enclosed, must not exceed 60 decibels at the lot line in residentially zoned areas or within 300 feet of any residentially occupied structure in any zone, measured on the A-weighting scale with the slow response on a Type 2 sound level meter. Its list of exceptions covers emergency alerts, emergency vehicles, permitted events, construction between 7:00 a.m. and 8:00 p.m. up to 75 dB(A), power tools up to 85 dB(A) and HVAC units. None of those exceptions mentions animals.

The cross reference printed under the noise division points to Chapter 6 as well. Chapter 6 defines a public nuisance as a dog or cat "making loud or objectionable sounds," and § 6-33 makes it unlawful to keep one on your own premises or anyone else's. York County animal control officers hold authority under § 6-32 to enforce Chapter 6 inside the city.