Rio Rancho uses a zone-based decibel ordinance (Municipal Code 131.06, effective July 1, 2024) with both A-weighted and C-weighted tables. Residential limits are 55/50 dB(A) day/night; commercial 65/60; industrial 75/70 - all measured at the source property line over a 10-minute period.
Rio Rancho's noise standard is numeric and zone-specific. Per the city, Municipal Code 131.06 defines 'unreasonable noise' as any sound exceeding the applicable limit in Table 1 (A-weighted) or Table 2 (C-weighted) for the zoning designation, measured at the source-premises property line. Table 1 (dB(A)): residential 55 day / 50 night; commercial, office, and business park 65 day / 60 night; industrial and wholesale 75 day / 70 night. Table 2 (dB(C), which captures low-frequency bass) runs 5 dB higher in each cell: residential 60/55, commercial 70/65, industrial 80/75. Daytime is 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sunday-Thursday and 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. Friday-Saturday; nighttime is the balance of each day. A reading is only a violation if it is emitted 'persistently or continuously' - a 10-minute window in which sound exceeds the limit in each of the ten one-minute intervals. Officers measure using city-purchased sound meters from the source property line. Outdoor power equipment carries its own 85 dB(A) cap. The ordinance replaced an older subjective 'annoying noise' standard so officers would have an objective, enforceable measure. Violations are penalized under Municipal Code 10.99: up to $500 and/or 90 days, each day a separate offense.
Sound exceeding the applicable zone limit (e.g., 55 dB(A) residential daytime, 50 dB(A) at night, or the corresponding dB(C) figure) for a continuous 10-minute period, measured at the source property line, is an unreasonable-noise violation under Municipal Code 131.06, penalized up to $500 and/or 90 days under Code 10.99.
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See how Rio Rancho's decibel limits rules stack up against other locations.
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