Clay, NY Noise Ordinances: Quiet Hours (2026)

Table 1 to § 152-4 of the Town of Clay Noise Ordinance, Chapter 152, sets two noise windows measured at the property line: 'Daily 7:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m.' allows 52 dB(A) or 59 dB(D) for steady-state noise and 72 dB(A) or 79 dB(D) for transient noise, while 'Evenings 9:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m.' drops those ceilings to 45 dB(A) or 52 dB(D) steady-state and 65 dB(A) or 72 dB(D) transient. Steady-state noise is defined at § 152-2 as any noise lasting more than one minute; transient noise is one minute or less.

Multiple prohibited-noise clauses in § 152-4 point back to this table, covering motorcycles and snowmobiles (§ 152-4A), animal noise (§ 152-4E) and amplified sound confined to a private recreation area (§ 152-4K), so the night curfew effectively governs any of those sources once the clock passes 9:00 p.m. Readings may be taken by the dB(A) or dB(D) method on a sound level meter using slow response, and an operator's expert reading of a fluctuating level is treated as valid under the table's own note. A homeowner running ordinary lawn and maintenance equipment between 7:00 a.m. and 9:00 p.m. is exempted from the chapter's prohibitory clauses by the town's § 152-3 policy statement, but that exemption ends at 9:00 p.m., after which the tighter nighttime figures in Table 1 apply in full.