North Hempstead, NY Noise Ordinances: Decibel Limits (2026)

2B treats noise as one of the performance standards every Industrial B use must meet, alongside vibration, air pollution, odors, glare and electromagnetic radiation. The base rule requires sound attenuation walls wherever needed to keep noise under 70 decibels measured beyond the property line; when the use sits within 200 feet of a residential district or use, the code tightens the standard further, requiring the same 70-decibel limit at the property line plus a stricter 60-decibel ceiling measured at the boundary of the nearest residential use or district.

The rule exempts construction activity performed under an approved building permit and complying with federal, state and local law, and it doesn't apply to intermittent noise from safety devices and alarms. Subsection K makes the standard binding on all uses in the Industrial B Zoning District, including existing uses, and a building-permit or certificate-of-occupancy application for a use subject to these standards has to describe the mechanisms used to control noise and other listed impacts, backed by a signed compliance affidavit. The Board of Zoning and Appeals can modify the decibel limits only if the operator shows the standard is impracticable given a specific federal or state noise standard the use already meets, or that modification is necessary for the use's commercial viability, and in either case that neighboring land uses won't be adversely affected.