Clarkstown, NY Noise Ordinances: Decibel Limits (2026)

Section 290-13H(2) of the Zoning Chapter sets the Town's only codified decibel table. It applies to nonresidential establishments subject to performance-standards review under the Use Table, and it is measured at specified points: 25 feet from the principal building (or the lot line if closer) in residential, LS, CS, RS and PO Districts, and at the nearest residential district boundary for LO, LIO and M Districts. The Building Inspector or Board of Appeals takes readings with an ANSI-compliant sound level meter and octave-band analyzer on at least three nonconsecutive days at three or more measurement points.

5 Hz center frequency, 65 dB at 63 Hz, 52 dB at 125 Hz, 45 dB at 250 Hz, 40 dB at 500 Hz, 36 dB at 1,000 Hz, 33 dB at 2,000 Hz, 30 dB at 4,000 Hz, down to 27 dB at 8,000 Hz. Because the table is written for nighttime radiation, § 290-13H(2)(c) lets an operator add or subtract corrections when noise is not continuous or not nighttime: plus 5 dB for daytime-only operation, plus 5 dB if the source runs less than 20% of any hour, plus 10 dB under 5% of an hour, plus 15 dB under 1% of an hour (only one duty-cycle correction applies), and a minus 5 dB penalty for impulsive noise like hammering or periodic noise like a hum or screech.

Enforcement runs through the performance-standards procedure at § 290-32C(6) and (7): a use that must comply files through the Board of Appeals when obtaining a building permit or certificate of occupancy, and initial and continued compliance is required afterward regardless of whether the procedure applied at permitting. Pre-existing nonconforming uses are exempt from these standards under § 290-13D, except manufacturing uses in residential districts addressed separately under § 290-29F(3).