Citrus County, FL Noise Ordinances: Decibel Limits (2026)

Section 21-22(a) and Table I of the Citrus County Code set the baseline for noise that crosses a real property line in the unincorporated county. The limit depends on the receiving land use district, meaning the zone of the property that hears the noise, not the zone of the property making it. Under section 21-11, daytime runs from 7:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. and nighttime runs from 10:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m. A residential receiver is held to 60 dB(A) by day and 55 dB(A) at night. Government-owned buildings or property, institutional and recreational receivers get 55 and 50. Commercial or business receivers get 65 and 60. Industrial or manufacturing and agricultural receivers sit at 75 dB(A) in both periods.

The measurement counts everything the meter hears. The total noise level on the A-scale includes ambient noise plus the alleged source, and it is expressed as L10, the level exceeded ten percent of the time. Under section 21-21(a) the minimum measurement period is ten minutes, and exceeding the standard for more than ten percent of that period is a violation. Section 21-25 requires an ANSI-compliant sound level meter that is calibrated before and after the reading and fitted with a windscreen. For outside measurements the reading is taken at the nearest adjacent real property line, at least four feet above the ground and at least ten feet from any wall, barrier or obstruction. Only designated enforcement agents, meaning code compliance officers or agents of the Citrus County Sheriff's Office, take the readings, and they must log the instrument serial number, calibration dates, a sketch of the measuring area and the weather.

Two companion standards sit in the same section. Table II caps interior sound inside multiple-family dwelling units at 55 dB(A) by day and 45 at night. Table III sets maximum instantaneous limits, where a single occurrence above the number is a violation: Residential 70 day and 60 night, government, institutional or recreational 65 and 55, commercial 75 and 65, industrial and agricultural 85 and 85, and multiple-family units 60 and 50. Quiet zones near hospitals, schools and houses of worship carry their own 55 dB(A) cap at 25 feet under section 21-23 once signs reading Quiet Zone are posted.

Section 21-28 exempts emergency vehicles and emergency work, permitted construction outside the 10:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m. window, air conditioners and lawn mowers running to manufacturer specifications, the unamplified human voice, and farming and forestry operations on lands designated agricultural, rural residential and conservation.