Fort Myers, FL Noise Ordinances: Decibel Limits (2026)

Many Florida cities use a table of dB(A) limits by zoning category (e.g., 60 dB residential day / 55 dB residential night), but Fort Myers has chosen a 'plainly audible' / qualitative approach. Code of Ordinances Chapter 54, Article V contains no decibel table. Sec. 54-196 makes any noise 'audible beyond the premises' a nuisance and lists examples of loud, disturbing, and unnecessary noises (unmuffled vehicles, loud animals, sound-reproducing devices, gratuitous horn use, etc.). The 2024 amendment to Sec. 54-197 (Ord. 4012, 'Amplified Sound Limitations') added definitions and an 'unreasonable noise disturbance' standard for amplified sound, but it intentionally did not require police or code enforcement to take a decibel reading - one of the explicit reasons the 2024 amendment was adopted was to remove the prior practical requirement of on-scene sound-meter measurement, which had hindered enforcement in the downtown River District. The result is that Fort Myers does not have a 50 dB / 55 dB / 65 dB / 75 dB table like neighboring jurisdictions. Permits, project-specific PD orders, and site-plan conditions may, however, impose dB limits on individual projects (rare for residential, common for major mixed-use and entertainment-venue approvals). For mediation between neighbors, FMPD non-emergency (239-321-7700) and Code Enforcement (239-321-7940) apply the audibility/disturbance standard rather than a meter reading.