Wichita Falls, TX Noise Ordinances: Decibel Limits (2026)
Key Facts
- Fine
- up to $500 per offense
- Standard used
- no decibel meter, complaint-based
- Covers
- A/C units, loading docks, machinery
- Loading noise buffer
- 200 feet from occupied property
- Cited sections
- City Code §§ 46-19, 46-20
Summary
Wichita Falls bans loud, unreasonable noise from commercial and industrial equipment, air conditioning units, loading docks, and machinery, that disturbs nearby residents, enforced under the city's general nuisance noise ordinance rather than a decibel meter.
Causing, suffering or allowing any air moving, conditioning or cooling equipment of any nature or kind to be so operated or maintained as to cause any unusual or excessive noise which disturbs the comfort, quiet or repose of persons in the vicinity thereof. In this connection, all available and reasonable sound-deadening and muffling devices and practices shall be employed.
Full Breakdown
City code makes it unlawful to operate any air moving, conditioning, or cooling equipment "so operated or maintained as to cause any unusual or excessive noise which disturbs the comfort, quiet or repose of persons in the vicinity," and requires all available sound-deadening and muffling devices to be used and kept in working order. The same article separately bans unreasonably loud noise from loading or unloading vehicles, or opening crates and containers, within 200 feet of neighboring occupied property. Wichita Falls has no decibel-meter standard for industrial or commercial sources: violations are judged by whether the noise is "unreasonably loud, disturbing and unnecessary" to an ordinary person, under Code of Ordinances § 46-19 and § 46-20.
Violations & Fines
Violating the noise ordinance is a misdemeanor punishable by a fine up to $500 for each offense, with each day the noise continues counted as a separate violation.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Wichita Falls have a decibel limit for industrial or commercial noise?
What commercial noise sources are specifically named in the ordinance?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Wichita Falls
Texas rules heatmap·Compare Wichita Falls to another location·View the Texas noise ordinances overview
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