Texas counties can't zone industry, so unincorporated Bell County has no industrial-noise ordinance. Killeen measures noise and vibration at the property line, prohibiting vibration above the perception threshold at or beyond the source's property.
Industrial and commercial noise is controlled only within cities, since the county cannot zone unincorporated land (note the large Fort Cavazos federal footprint, which is not county-regulated). Killeen applies its decibel caps (50 dBA / 60 dBC at the property line) to all sources and separately prohibits operating any device that creates vibration above an individual's perception threshold at or beyond the source's property line, or 50 feet away in a public right-of-way. Temple treats industrial noise under its general loud-and-disturbing-noise nuisance standard. There is no separate county industrial-noise permit; large facilities in unincorporated areas are limited chiefly by state environmental and disorderly-conduct law.
Killeen: misdemeanor, $100-$2,000; the building official may issue an administrative stop order. Temple: municipal nuisance citation. Unincorporated: state law only.
Other ordinances people look up for this city. Green dot = verified primary-source excerpt.
Bell County, TX
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Bell County, TX
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Bell County, TX
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See how Bell County's industrial noise rules stack up against other locations.
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