Spring Hill, FL Noise Ordinances: Decibel Limits (2026)

Unlike many Florida jurisdictions that rely on a qualitative 'plainly audible' or 'loud and raucous' test, Hernando County uses a fully numeric dBA standard. Hernando County Code Ch. 21, Art. VIII, Sec. 21-135 ('Sound level limits') sets the following caps measured at the property line of the receiving land use: (1) Residential, institutional, public space, or recreational district areas - 60 dBA from 7:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. and 55 dBA from 9:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m. (2) Commercial district areas - 65 dBA from 7:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. and 60 dBA from 9:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m. (3) Agricultural, agricultural/residential, conservation, industrial, mining, or rural district areas - 75 dBA at all times. Sec. 21-136 carves out narrow exemptions: emergency-alerting sounds, unamplified human voice, agricultural equipment in agricultural areas, unamplified church bells/chimes for religious purposes, scheduled public-agency road construction, railways and aircraft, construction activities between 7 a.m. and 9 p.m., domestic power tools between 7 a.m. and 9 p.m., properly functioning residential air-conditioning equipment, and animal sounds (separately regulated under Florida Statutes and Ch. 6). Enforcement requires an ANSI Type II noise-meter reading - Hernando County purchased a noise meter (~$2,000) and pays annual recalibration (~$350) to keep Sec. 21-135 enforceable; portions of an earlier 'plainly audible' rule became unenforceable after Florida court rulings around 2012 (referenced in BOCC discussion of State of Florida v. Catalano). HCSO deputies and Hernando County Code Enforcement officers conduct readings; the meter is staged from the county's enforcement office. A separate 90 dBA-at-50-feet vessel cap applies to watercraft under Hernando County Code Ch. 7 (Boats and Waterways) Art. IV per Ordinance 2023-12.