Outdoor amplified music that is plainly audible 100+ feet away on someone else's residential-zone property is prohibited in Chattanooga. The Downtown Amplified Music District allows up to 80 dB(A) midday under an AMD permit, dropping to 65 dB(A) late night.
City Code Sec. 25-68(a)(14) bars any sound amplification system so that sound is plainly audible 100 or more feet away on another person's property in a Residential Zone, exempting events over 1,000 people, athletic events, and sound from a C-3 zone. Within the Downtown Amplified Music District, AMD-permit holders (Sec. 25-69(b)) face a table capping sound at the property line: 55 dB(A) early morning, 80 dB(A) midday, and 65 dB(A) late night (dB(C) limits of 70/90/80). Permits for extra amplification cannot exceed 70 dB(A) at a residential line and are hour-limited annually (Sec. 25-71). More than three AMD violations in 90 days can suspend or revoke the permit.
$50 citation fine and civil penalty up to $500 per violation; repeat AMD-permit violations trigger permit suspension or revocation (Sec. 25-69(b), 25-73).
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