Bristol, PA Noise Ordinances: Quiet Hours (2026)
Quiet hours in Bristol, PA, also called the noise ordinance, nighttime noise rules, or residential quiet time, define the hours during which excessive noise is prohibited.
Key Facts
- Night window
- 10:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m. plus Sundays and legal holidays
- Commercial or business limit
- 65 dBA by day, 60 dBA at night
- Industrial limit
- 70 dBA at all times
- Pure tone adjustment
- Limit reduced by 5 dBA
- Impulsive sound ceiling
- 20 dBA over ambient, any time of day
- Civil enforcement judgment
- Not more than $500 plus costs under § 27-812
Summary
Bristol Borough prints no single quiet-hours clock. Section 27-506 of the Borough Code instead lowers the allowed sound level from 10:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m. plus Sundays and legal holidays: 60 dBA at commercial or business receiving property against 65 dBA by day, with industrial held at 70 dBA at all times. Domestic power tools have their own hour windows.
1. No person shall operate or cause to be operated on private or public property any source of continuous sound (any sound which is static, fluctuating or intermittent with a recurrence greater than one time in any 15-second interval) in such a manner as to create a sound level which exceeds the limits set forth for the receiving land use category in the following table when measured at or within the property boundary of the receiving land use: ... Receiving Land Use Category Time Sound Level Limit ... Commercial or Business 1) 7:00 a.m. - 10:00 p.m. 65 dBA 2) 10:00 p.m. - 7:00 a.m. plus Sundays and Legal holidays 60 dBA Industrial At all times 70 dBA 2. For any source of sound which emits a pure tone, the maximum sound level limits set forth in Subsection 1 shall be reduced by 5 dBA. 3. The maximum permissible sound level limits set forth in Subsection 1 shall not apply to any of the following noise sources: ... C. Domestic power tools, between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 9:00 p.m. on Mondays through Fridays, between 8:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. on Saturdays and between 10:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. on Sundays.
Full Breakdown
Section 27-506, Noise Control, in the Borough of Bristol zoning chapter is the Code's time-of-day noise rule. It bars any person from operating, on private or public property, a source of continuous sound that exceeds the table limit for the receiving land use, measured at or within the property boundary of the receiving land use. Continuous sound means any sound that is static, fluctuating or intermittent with a recurrence greater than one time in any 15-second interval.
The night window is 10:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m., and the table extends it to Sundays and legal holidays. For Commercial or Business receiving land the limit is 65 dBA from 7:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. and 60 dBA in the night window. Industrial land is held to 70 dBA at all times, so it has no quiet-hours step. The table also sets lower figures for residential and open space or institutional receiving land, including 60 dBA for residential by day and 50 dBA as the lowest night figure. The printed table separates the residential night row from its label, so this page quotes only the Commercial and Industrial rows that read cleanly.
Two adjustments apply. A source that emits a pure tone has its limit reduced by 5 dBA. An impulsive sound, one of short duration with an abrupt onset and rapid decay occurring not more than one time in any 15-second interval, cannot exceed 20 dBA over the ambient level, regardless of time of day or night or receiving land use, measured with the fast meter characteristic of a Type 2 meter meeting ANSI specifications S1.4-1971.
Subsection 3 lists sources the limits do not reach: emergency alert sounds, emergency work on public utilities, explosives and construction operations, agriculture, motor vehicles traveling on roads and highways, public celebrations specifically authorized by the Borough, surface railroad carriers, and the unamplified human voice. Domestic power tools are exempt only inside set hours: 8:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Saturday, and 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Sunday.
Chapter 10, Part 5 runs alongside the dBA table. Section 10-501 prohibits unnecessary or excessive noise at any hour, and § 10-502 singles out the running or idling of a parked truck engine within 300 feet of a residential zone or district between 10:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m.
Violations & Fines
Section 27-506 sits in the zoning chapter, so §§ 27-811 and 27-812 govern. The Borough sends an enforcement notice to the owner of record stating the violation, the dates by which compliance steps must start and finish, and the right to appeal to the Zoning Hearing Board. Ignoring it is a violation. A civil judgment is not more than $500 plus court costs and attorney fees, and each day is a separate violation, with a good-faith finding reducing the first days to one violation until the fifth day after the determination.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are quiet hours in Bristol Borough?
Where is the sound level measured?
When can I run power tools at home in Bristol Borough?
Does the nighttime limit apply to construction?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Bristol
How Bristol compares: Cities with the Strictest Noise Ordinances·Compare Bristol to another location·View the Pennsylvania noise ordinances overview
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