Chattanooga has no separate industrial-zone decibel table; industrial noise is governed by the general prohibition on unreasonably loud noise plus specific bans on unmuffled exhausts, steam whistles, loud loading, and mechanical refuse loaders operating 9 p.m.–7 a.m. near homes.
City Code Sec. 25-66 broadly prohibits any unreasonably loud, disturbing or unnecessary noise detrimental to health or the public peace. The enumerated acts in Sec. 25-68 reach industrial and commercial sources: discharging engine exhaust into open air without an effective muffler (a)(7); blowing steam whistles except for work signals or fire/danger warnings (a)(6); loud loading, unloading and opening of crates (a)(10); and operating a mechanical loader for refuse collection between 9:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m. within or adjacent to any residential zone (a)(11). Land-use separation of industry from homes is handled through Chattanooga–Hamilton County RPA zoning rather than a numeric industrial dB standard.
$50 citation fine per violation and civil penalty up to $500 per violation in Chattanooga city court (Sec. 25-73).
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See how Hamilton County's industrial noise rules stack up against other locations.
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