Wayne, NJ Noise Ordinances: Decibel Limits (2026)

Chapter 121 of the Wayne Township Code writes its limits as tables measured at the receiving property. Under § 121-7 A, no one can operate a source of sound that equals or exceeds the limits in Tables I, II or III when measured at or within the real property line of a receiving property. Table I, measured outdoors, prints 65 for a residential property from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. and 50 from 10 p.m. to 7 a.m. Commercial, public service and community service receivers, and the nonresidential part of a multi-use property, get 65 for 24 hours. Table II, measured indoors, prints 55 and 40 for residential and 55 for commercial, but its note limits it to cases where the source and receptor are separated by a real property line and share a common or abutting wall, floor or ceiling, or sit on the same parcel. Table III adds octave band limits from 31.5 Hz up to 8,000 Hz.

Impulsive sound, a single pressure peak or burst lasting less than one second, has its own rule in § 121-7 B. From 7:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. it cannot equal or exceed 80 decibels. From 10:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m., impulsive sound occurring less than four times in any hour cannot equal or exceed 80 decibels, and impulsive sound repeating four or more times in any hour is measured as continuous sound against Tables I and II.

Section 121-6 sets the measurement method: a Noise Control Officer follows N.J.A.C. 7:29-2, and indoor readings are taken at least three feet from any wall, floor or ceiling. Section 121-4 C exempts construction and demolition from Tables I through III, but § 121-9 C still bars that work from 6:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m. on weekdays and from 6:00 p.m. to 9:00 a.m. on weekends and federal holidays unless the tables are met. Section 121-9 A bars residential power tools and yard equipment from 8:00 p.m. to 8:00 a.m.