Sandy, UT Noise Ordinances: Barking Dogs (2026)

Section 13-1-6, titled "Animals And Fowl Disturbing The Neighborhood," sits among Sandy's general public-peace offenses in Chapter 13-1, next to vagrancy, disorderly houses, and the ban on throwing missiles. It reaches any person who "willfully" possesses, maintains, or keeps an animal or fowl, so it targets ongoing keeping of a noisy animal rather than one isolated bark, and it applies to any animal or fowl, not dogs alone. Unlike Sandy's noise-control chapter at 13-2, which sets measured decibel thresholds using A-weighted sound pressure levels for stationary and mobile noise sources, § 13-1-6 doesn't require a meter reading; it turns on whether the noise is "loud or offensive" and disturbs another person's peace and quiet, a standard enforceable off a neighbor's complaint.

The section itself doesn't state its own penalty class, unlike several neighboring sections in the same chapter that do, such as public urination's Class C misdemeanor or the fireworks section's infraction. Where a Sandy ordinance doesn't prescribe its own penalty, § 1-2-2 supplies the default: any person found guilty of violating a provision of the code with no other penalty stated is guilty of a Class B misdemeanor, which under § 1-2-3 and § 1-2-4 can draw a fine up to $1,000 and up to six months in jail.