Noblesville, IN Noise Ordinances: Industrial Noise (2026)

Title XV (Land Usage), Chapter 159 (Unified Development), §159.203 NOISE - within the Environmental Performance Standards (§§159.200 et seq.) - governs noise generated by uses in commercial and industrial zoning districts in Noblesville. The UDO requires excessive noise to be muffled 'so as not to be objectionable due to intermittence, beat frequency, shrillness, or volume.' Where the emitting and receiving premises are in different zoning districts, 'the limits governing the more restrictive district shall apply' to any regulated noise entering that district. The levels specified may be exceeded by 10 dB for a single period, no longer than 15 minutes in any one day. Sound is measured with a sound level meter meeting American National Standards Institute standards, with the instrument set to the A-weighted response scale and the meter to slow response. The published district sound-pressure level limits used in Noblesville's UDO follow a standard day/night tiered schedule: Industrial districts approximately 65 dB(A) daytime / 60 dB(A) nighttime; Commercial districts approximately 60 dB(A) daytime / 50 dB(A) nighttime; Residential and all other districts approximately 55 dB(A) daytime / 45 dB(A) nighttime. Exempt activities include home maintenance, non-home construction/maintenance between 7 a.m. - 10 p.m., emergency signals, traffic noise, utility emergency work, and permitted recreational activities (parades, sporting events, concerts, fireworks). Major Noblesville industrial corridors include the Pleasant Street / SR 37 corridor (south side), the Lakeview Drive industrial area, and various manufacturing sites in the Hamilton County industrial east side. The §93.25 general noise rule (city-wide 11 p.m. - 7 a.m. quiet hours) provides a secondary enforcement path when industrial sources continue past 11 p.m. or use amplified-sound devices.