Chittenden County, VT Noise Ordinances: Quiet Hours (2026)

Vermont counties (including Chittenden) have no executive or legislative branch and cannot adopt ordinances - only judicial functions remain (the county Superior Court and Sheriff's civil process). Town and city governments hold all local police-power authority under 24 V.S.A. §2291, which authorizes municipalities to regulate noise, animals, and public nuisances, and 24 V.S.A. §2210, the general public nuisance statute. There is no statewide Vermont noise ordinance with decibel limits; instead, each town adopts its own rules. Burlington (the county's largest jurisdiction) regulates noise under Burlington Code of Ordinances Section 21-13. The ordinance applies 24 hours a day and prohibits any "loud or unreasonable noise." Special quiet hours run from 10:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m., during which noise that is "plainly audible" between apartments or houses is considered unreasonable per se. Power equipment, construction, and similar mechanical activity are banned between 9:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m. (with exemptions for emergency repairs, safety devices, and snow removal). Social gatherings where one or more participants are non-residents have stricter party-noise penalties, and all residents of the premises share liability. South Burlington uses Code Chapter 14 (Environment, Article II Nuisance Ordinance), Essex/Essex Junction and Williston each maintain their own noise rules, and unincorporated villages or towns without ordinances default to common-law nuisance under 24 V.S.A. §2210.