Vancouver, WA Noise Ordinances: Decibel Limits (2026)

VMC 20.935.030(A) bars any development or use from creating noise impacts, measured at the property line of the receiving property, above the levels in Table 20.935.030-1, which the code ties to WAC 173-60-050. The table reads from the land use making the noise to the land use receiving it. A residential source is held to 55 dBA at a residential neighbor, 57 dBA at a commercial neighbor and 60 dBA at an industrial neighbor. A commercial source is held to 57, 60 and 65 dBA for those same three receiving uses, and an industrial source to 60, 65 and 70 dBA. A footnote limits the 55 dBA residential figure to home occupation related activities only.

Two adjustments sit directly under the table. First, every level is reduced by 10 dBA between 10 p.m. and 7:00 a.m. for the receiving property. Second, at any hour of the day or night the limit can be exceeded by no more than 5 dBA for a total of 15 minutes in any one-hour period, by 10 dBA for a total of 5 minutes in any one-hour period, or by 15 dBA for a total of 1.5 minutes in any one-hour period.

Where a proposed land use or development activity is expected to affect adjacent uses, the review process can impose mitigation. The code names a sound wall or fence, reorientation of buildings, parking and loading areas, and berms and landscaping. Sound walls must meet the design standards of VMC 20.912.080 Fences and Walls.

The standards reach existing operations, not only new projects. Because excessive environmental noise harms public health, safety and welfare, the table applies to all uses in existence on the date of adoption of the ordinance, and no right to maintain a use that fails the standards exists. Chapter 20.935 also requires each use, activity or operation within the City of Vancouver to comply with the applicable federal and state noise rules (VMC 20.935.020(A)), and it makes continued compliance the responsibility of the property owner and operator (VMC 20.935.020(C)).