Ann Arbor, MI Noise Ordinances: Decibel Limits (2026)

Chapter 119 of the Ann Arbor City Code, Article I, sets a numeric ceiling on sound leaving a property in the City of Ann Arbor, Washtenaw County, Michigan. Section 9:364 says no person shall conduct or permit any activity that produces a dB(A) beyond his property line exceeding the levels in Table I. The receiving use decides the limit. Residential property is held to 61 dB(A) from 7:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. and 55 dB(A) from 10:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m., while commercial property is held to 71 dB(A) by day and 61 dB(A) at night. Where one parcel is used for both purposes, the residential levels apply only to measurements made on the part used solely for residential purposes.

Section 9:361 makes the numbers measurable. dB(A) is the intensity of a sound read from a calibrated sound level meter using the A-level weighting scale and the fast meter response, as specified in ANSI standard S 1.4-1971. Commercial means any use other than residential, and residential means a legal use for temporary or permanent dwelling purposes. The property line includes the limits of an apartment, condominium, room or other dwelling unit that a person leases or occupies. For sound from an activity on a public street or other right-of-way, the property line is the nearest boundary of that right-of-way.

Article I does not reach motor vehicles operating on a public right-of-way, aircraft in flight or in operation at an airport, or railroad equipment on railroad rights-of-way (§ 9:360). Section 9:363 works beside Table I: its listed activities are unlawful when clearly audible beyond the property line even if the sound level is at or below the Table I figure.

Section 9:365 exempts named activities from Table I but caps them with their own numbers: power equipment between 7:00 a.m. and 10:00 p.m. up to 90 dB(A), construction, repair, remodeling, demolition, drilling, wood cutting or excavation between 7:00 a.m. and 8:00 p.m. Monday through Saturday (except legal holidays) up to 105 dB(A), insect-control devices up to 83 dB(A), and a single unamplified musical instrument played not more than 1 hour a day up to 67 dB(A). Section 9:366(1) removes emergency work, emergency alerts, governmental activities, parades, concerts, festivals and fairs subject to sound limits in the city's approval, school and college events, and snow removal equipment from the Table I limits.