Annapolis, MD Noise Ordinances: Quiet Hours (2026)

Annapolis City Code § 11.12.020(B)(2)(a) sets the city's quiet hours through a decibel chart, not a list of banned activities. The chart is two-tier: one column for daytime hours of 7 a.m. to 10 p.m., one column for nighttime hours of 10 p.m. to 7 a.m., and a row for each group of City of Annapolis zoning districts.

For residential zoning districts, as identified in Chapter 21.40, the daytime ceiling is 65 dBA and the nighttime ceiling is 55 dBA. The lower figure takes over at 10 p.m. and the higher daytime figure returns at 7 a.m. The switch happens every night.

Other districts get different numbers. Office and mixed-use zones run 67 dBA in the daytime and 62 dBA at night, so their ceiling is higher than the residential one in both periods. Commercial and industrial zones stay flat at 75 dBA around the clock, with no nighttime reduction. Which limit applies therefore depends on the zoning district, and the drop at 10 p.m. is steepest in the residential districts.

The city chart is layered on state rules. The provision opens with the words "In addition to state standards" and says the maximum allowable decibel noise levels shall follow the Code of Maryland Regulations 26.02.03.02 (Environmental Noise Standards). The section separately adopts COMAR 26.02.03.01-.02 as the City's baseline noise standard. Annapolis residents are covered by both the state standard and the city chart.

Annapolis also carries the chart onto the water. Boat noise measured from land follows the same day and night split, so a vessel is held to the same decibel levels and hours as a land-based source.

Because the limits are stated in dBA, the question under this provision is the sound level against the ceiling for that district and that time of day. A violation is a municipal infraction, fined under § 11.12.120 and the City's annual Fines Schedule.