Burleson, TX Noise Ordinances: Decibel Limits (2026)

Burleson Code of Ordinances § 34-191(c)(1) sets maximum sound levels by zoning district, and activities that create a sound pressure level on the complainant's bounding real property line above the maximum are prima facie evidence sufficient to establish a public nuisance. Daytime is 7:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. and nighttime is 10:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m.

Within or directly adjacent to a district zoned A agricultural, SFE, SF16, SF10, SF7, SFA, 2F, MF1, MF2, MH or MHP, the limit is 70 dBA by day and 60 dBA at night. In all commercial districts, including NS neighborhood service, GR general retail and C commercial, it is 80 dBA by day and 70 dBA at night. In the industrial district it is 85 dBA by day and 75 dBA at night. Site plan and planned development districts (SP or PD) are measured against the base land use category that makes up the largest percentage of land area in that district. The Old Town overlay area zoned C.C. has its own Friday and Saturday schedule. Where ambient noise exceeds the prescribed maximum, the limit is existing ambient plus 3 dBA in the daytime and existing ambient at night.

Under § 34-191(c)(2), a measurement lasts at least 30 seconds, is taken from the complainant's property line, and the highest registered reading decides the violation, with ambient noise included. For residential districts adjacent to other districts, excluding industrial, the residential levels apply when measured from a residential complainant's property line.

Section 34-191(c)(3) reaches past the city line: generating noise at 85 dBA or more within 5,000 feet outside the corporate boundaries is declared a public nuisance, enforceable by citation through the Burleson Municipal Court. Subsection (d)(1) adds a separate ban on unreasonable noise that needs no decibel reading.