Skokie, IL Noise Ordinances: Decibel Limits (2026)

Section 118-171(2)a imposes performance standards on every new or altered use in Skokie's industrial zoning districts, M1 Office Assembly Industry, M2 Light Industry, and M3 Industry, under Article VIII. The section sets a maximum sound pressure level for continuous sounds, measured by octave band frequency in cycles per second, and the limit tightens as frequency rises and as the boundary gets closer to housing. Along a residential district boundary, the ceiling runs from 58 decibels in the 0 to 75 cycle band down through 54, 50, 46, and 40 decibels in the middle bands, to just 26 decibels in the 2,400 to 4,800 band and 20 decibels above 4,800 cycles per second.

Along a mixed-use or business district boundary the Village allows louder operations, roughly 15 decibels higher in each band, from 73 decibels at the lowest frequencies down to 35 decibels above 4,800 cycles. Measurement is taken to the nearest boundary of the nearest residential or business district, or at any other point along the boundary where the reading is higher, using a sound level meter and octave band filter built to American Standards Association specifications. Intermittent sounds that are not easily measured on this scale are addressed separately: the code simply requires they be controlled so they do not become a nuisance to adjacent uses.

Before a building or occupancy permit issues for a new or altered industrial use in the Village of Skokie, Cook County, Illinois, the Village Manager or a designee can require the petitioner to submit certification from a Village-approved testing laboratory showing compliance, and if a violation is found the cost of that testing falls on the violator.