Portland, ME Noise Ordinances: Decibel Limits (2026)

Sec. 17-18(a) of the Portland Code is the only ordinance section that sets a quantified decibel cap: 'Within the R-zones, from September 1st to May 31st, no person shall engage in construction activities generating noise exceeding fifty (50) decibels, between the hours of 7:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m., of the following day within five hundred (500) feet of any building used for residential, hospital or nursing home purposes. From June 1st to August 31st construction activity may continue until 8:00 p.m. Any other language notwithstanding, no construction activity shall begin before 8:00 a.m. on a Saturday, Sunday or legal holiday.' Covered 'construction activities' include road/bridge work, utility-line installation, building construction (including foundation excavation and landscaping), and exterior renovation/remodeling/demolition (§ 17-18(b)). Exceptions allow emergency utility repair and pre-noticed unique projects approved by the Public Works Authority or Building Inspections (§ 17-18(c)). Portland deliberately avoids a citywide dB-by-zone matrix (unlike Boston or Cambridge) — outside construction, noise is judged on the qualitative 'loud, unnecessary or unusual noise' standard in Sec. 17-17(c). The state-law disorderly-conduct framework (17-A MRS § 501-A) likewise uses 'loud and unreasonable noise' rather than dB thresholds.