Quiet hours in Athens, GA — also called the noise ordinance, nighttime noise rules, or residential quiet time — define the hours during which excessive noise is prohibited.
Athens-Clarke County Sec. 3-5-24 enforces a 100-foot sound rule: at night any sound audible more than 100 ft from its source is a disturbance. Quiet hours are 11 PM-7 AM weekdays and midnight-7 AM weekends.
The Athens-Clarke County noise control ordinance (Section 3-5-24 of the unified Code of Ordinances) covers mechanical-device sounds, human-produced sounds, and commercial advertising. The signature provision is the '100-foot rule': during nighttime quiet hours, sound must not travel more than 100 feet from its source without constituting a disturbance. Quiet hours run from 11:00 PM to 7:00 AM on weekdays (Sunday-Thursday nights) and from midnight to 7:00 AM on weekends (Friday and Saturday nights). The ordinance was strengthened to give officers discretion to issue citations on first contact rather than warnings, particularly in neighborhoods near the University of Georgia.
First-contact citations are within officer discretion. Loud-party citations carry municipal-court fines and can be repeated for ongoing disturbances.
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See how Athens's quiet hours rules stack up against other locations.
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