Winter Haven, FL Noise Ordinances: Decibel Limits (2026)

Sec. 12-31 of the Winter Haven Code of Ordinances sets two decibel tables under the city's noise article. Table I lists hearing-damage exposure limits, for example 90 dB(A) for up to eight continuous hours rising to 115 dB(A) for a quarter hour or less, that apply anywhere in the city regardless of zoning. Table II, the day-to-day nuisance standard, caps sound differently by zoning district: residential areas may not exceed 61 dB(A) in daytime hours and 50 dB(A) at night; commercial areas top out at 66 dB(A) daytime and 50 dB(A) at night; manufacturing areas allow 71 dB(A) daytime and 65 dB(A) at night.

Sec. m. Under Sec. 12-31(b), a reading may not exceed the Table II limit for more than three cumulative minutes in any continuous sixty-minute period, and measurements are taken with a calibrated sound level meter at least three feet from any wall, floor, ceiling, or other surface per Sec. 12-30. Where a property mixes uses, Sec. 12-29 applies the more restrictive occupancy classification, and noise crossing from one use into another may not exceed either zone's limit. Air conditioners and lawn mowers operated to manufacturer specifications, permitted construction work, emergency vehicles and safety signals, and city-permitted street activities are exempt from Table II under Sec.

12-33, though never from Table I's hearing-safety ceiling. Under Sec. 12-36, a first violation draws an official warning and one chance to comply; a repeat violation after the warning is punishable under the general penalty in Sec. 1-13, up to $500 per day, with each day a separate offense, and the property's owner, tenant, or manager is responsible even if someone else caused the noise.