Rochester Hills, MI Noise Ordinances: Decibel Limits (2026)

Chapter 46, Article IV of the Rochester Hills Code sets performance standards for every use permitted under the zoning ordinance, and § 46-94 governs noise. Subsection (3) fixes numeric ceilings measured at the property line, or at ambient level if that is higher: for daytime, defined as 7:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m., the limit is 65 dBA for a residential use receiving the sound, 65 dBA for commercial, mixed-use or institutional uses, and 75 dBA for industrial uses; for nighttime, 8:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m., the residential limit drops to 50 dBA while commercial/mixed-use/institutional and industrial uses remain capped at 65 dBA.

Subsection (1) adds a separate, non-numeric standard: intermittent or high-frequency sounds must be controlled even when they test below those decibel numbers if they become a nuisance to adjacent uses, a rule the section says applies particularly to loading and unloading areas in commercial or industrial districts next to residential districts. Subsection (2) exempts specific sources outright: emergency repairs to vital services and emergency or alarm devices (though an alarm running more than 30 minutes after being triggered is itself unlawful), construction noise between 7:00 a.m. and 8:00 p.m.

Monday through Saturday, and bells or chimes from a building, school or place of worship. Because the performance-standards article is not expressly designated a municipal civil infraction the way the litter article is, a noise violation defaults to the general misdemeanor penalty in § 1-16: up to 90 days in jail, a fine of up to $500, or both, with every day a violation continues charged as a separate offense.