Arvada, CO Noise Ordinances: Decibel Limits (2026)

Section 38-91 of the Arvada City Code makes it unlawful to operate, cause or permit any stationary source of noise that exceeds the Table I limits for more than 90 percent of any measurement period. The measurement cannot be shorter than ten minutes, and it can be taken at the property boundary or at any point within the property affected by the noise, so a neighbor's yard or bedroom is a valid measuring spot. Section 38-34 defines a stationary noise source as any equipment or facility, fixed or movable, capable of emitting sound beyond the boundary of the property where it is used.

The limits step down after dark. Residential and mixed-use districts get 55 dB(A) from 7:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. and 50 dB(A) from 9:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m. Commercial districts get 60 and 55. Light industrial districts get 70 and 65. Heavy industrial districts get 75 dB(A) day and night. Under section 38-34, residential and mixed-use districts include land zoned RA, RN, R6, R13, R24, MX-S, MX-U, MX-T, or PUD with any residential use, and also hospitals, nursing homes, homes for the aged, schools and courts. Commercial includes CG land, light industrial includes IL land, and heavy industrial includes IG land. A PUD follows the table according to the predominant land use in its PUD plan.

Three companion sections tighten the numbers. Section 38-93 applies the most restrictive district's limits at the boundary when a source is measured in more than one use district. Section 38-94 bars fluctuating or intermittent noise whose tenth percentile level, the level exceeded six minutes in one hour, is more than 15 dB(A) above the ambient level measured while the source is quiet, and in residential land use that tenth percentile level can never exceed 70 dB(A). Section 38-95 targets pure tones, cyclically varying noise and repetitively impulsive noise, which are held to a level five dB(A) below the section 38-91 limits.

Some noise is handled outside Table I. Section 38-62(2) bans construction equipment between 9:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m. in residential, commercial and mixed-use districts, and holds construction projects to the light industrial limit during permitted hours. Section 38-65 exempts property owners doing safety and code-compliance maintenance only if the noise is reasonable for the work and stays within the section 38-91 levels. Section 38-96 exempts senior and junior high school bands, and section 38-63 exempts emergency work and weather-related snow removal and cleanup.