Bulloch County, GA Noise Ordinances: Decibel Limits (2026)
Key Facts
- Noise limit
- 60 decibels at property line
- Applies to
- LI and HI districts only
- Screw machine buffer
- 300 feet from residential district
- Measurement point
- Street or property line
- Governing section
- Zoning Ordinance § 807
Summary
Bulloch County's industrial performance standards cap noise from Light and Heavy Industrial uses at 60 decibels as measured at the street or property line, and require noise to be muffled so it is not objectionable due to intermittence, beat frequency, or shrillness.
Section 807. - Industrial performance standards (LI and HI districts only). ... (2)Control of noise. Shall be muffled so as not to become objectionable due to intermittence, beat frequency, or shrillness. Noise as measured at the street or property line may not exceed 60 decibels, and must comply with requirements of the county's Code of Ordinances.
Full Breakdown
Section 807 of the Zoning Ordinance (Appendix C, Article 8), titled Industrial performance standards, applies specifically to LI (Light Industrial) and HI (Heavy Industrial) districts. Its control-of-noise provision states that noise generated by an industrial use shall be muffled so as not to become objectionable due to intermittence, beat frequency, or shrillness, and sets a numeric ceiling: noise as measured at the street or property line may not exceed 60 decibels, and must comply with requirements of the county's Code of Ordinances. The same section regulates other industrial nuisances alongside noise: automatic screw machines are permitted only when operated with noise silencers and located at least 300 feet from any zoned residential district; emissions of gases, smoke, dust, dirt and fly ash must not be unclean, destructive, unhealthful, hazardous or deleterious to the general welfare and must conform to applicable air-pollution and smoke-abatement laws; glare and heat from arc welding or acetylene torch cutting must be shielded behind solid walls or frosted glass; and industrial sewage wastes must meet all governing-body and State of Georgia requirements.
Because Section 807 is confined to the LI and HI zoning districts, the 60-decibel property-line limit is a zoning performance standard tied to industrial land use rather than a general countywide noise ordinance applicable to residential or commercial noise complaints; other noise complaints in the unincorporated area fall to the general offenses provisions of the county code and the Sheriff's Office rather than this zoning section.
Violations & Fines
An LI or HI use that generates noise exceeding 60 decibels measured at the street or property line, or that operates an automatic screw machine without silencers within 300 feet of a residential district, violates Section 807. Zoning Ordinance violations carry the Section 418 penalty under Bulloch County Code Sec. 1-11: a fine up to $1,000.00, up to 60 days in jail, or both, with each day a separate offense.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is there a decibel limit on industrial noise in Bulloch County?
Does the 60-decibel limit apply to residential neighborhoods?
How far must a noisy automatic screw machine be from homes?
Who enforces the industrial noise standard in unincorporated Bulloch County?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Bulloch County
Compare Bulloch County to another location·View the Georgia noise ordinances overview
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