Granville County, NC Noise Ordinances: Decibel Limits (2026)

Granville County's noise performance standard sits in the Land Development Code's environmental performance standards division, Sec. 32-381 through 32-389, which apply to every permitted use in unincorporated Granville County: agricultural, residential, commercial and industrial alike. Sec. 32-384 sets the numeric ceiling: 65 DNL of continuous sound pressure level measured at the property line of the tract where the noise-generating operation sits. The standard reaches more than raw decibels; noise that becomes objectionable through intermittence, beat frequency or shrillness is a violation even under 65 DNL.

Sec. 32-383 adds that where two or more tracts run concurrent operations, their combined effect at any property line still cannot exceed the standard, so a landowner cannot escape liability by pointing to a neighboring source. Measurement follows the American National Standards Institute method (ANSI sl.2-1962): a sound level meter set to the A-weighted response scale and slow meter response, read at the lot line nearest the emission. Development Services, through the county's land development administrator, enforces the standard as a continuing obligation under Sec.

32-382; a use that was compliant at permitting can still be cited later if conditions change. Because chapter 32 does not carve out a separate curfew or nighttime limit, the 65 DNL ceiling applies around the clock. Violations funnel into the countywide penalty framework at Sec. 1-6: a civil citation issued by the county, 15 days to respond or correct, and each day the noise continues counts as a separate offense.