Durham sets numeric noise caps measured at your property line: no daytime or evening sound (after 8 a.m., before 11 p.m.) may exceed 60 dB(A), and no nighttime sound (11 p.m.–8 a.m.) may exceed 50 dB(A), using an A-weighted sound-level meter.
Sec. 26-23(d) establishes 'particular standards': nighttime (11:00 p.m.–8:00 a.m.) sound may not exceed 50 dB(A), and daytime or evening (after 8:00 a.m.–before 11:00 p.m.) sound may not exceed 60 dB(A). A 'decibel' is defined as 20 times the base-ten log of the sound-pressure ratio to a 20-micronewton-per-square-meter reference, and levels are measured with a sound-level meter using ANSI 'A' frequency weighting. These caps apply to amplified and mechanically produced sound measured beyond the source property's boundary, subject to the permit and emergency exemptions in subsection (e).
Exceeding the dB(A) limits is an unreasonably loud and disturbing noise: Class 3 misdemeanor, up to $50 (Sec. 1-9), measured and cited by responding officers.
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See how Durham County's decibel limits rules stack up against other locations.
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