Quiet hours in Colorado Springs, CO — also called the noise ordinance, nighttime noise rules, or residential quiet time — define the hours during which excessive noise is prohibited.
Colorado Springs City Code section 9.8.104 sets enforceable decibel limits by zone and time of day. In residential zones the cap is 55 dB(A) from 7:00 A.M. to 7:00 P.M. and a stricter 50 dB(A) from 7:00 P.M. to 7:00 A.M. Exceeding the limit for the zone and time is declared excessive, unusually loud, and unlawful.
Colorado Springs regulates nighttime noise primarily through decibel-keyed limits rather than a flat curfew. City Code section 9.8.104 (Permissible Noise Levels) declares that any noise measured per section 9.8.103 at or above the dB(A) figure for the relevant zone and time period is 'excessive and unusually loud and is unlawful.' The residential cap is 55 dB(A) during the day (7:00 A.M. to 7:00 P.M.) and 50 dB(A) at night (7:00 P.M. to 7:00 A.M.); commercial, light industrial, and industrial zones carry higher limits. Section 9.8.103 prescribes how noise is measured: on the A-weighting scale of a standard sound level meter, at least 25 feet from the source or property line, with wind under 5 mph (or 25 mph with a windscreen), accounting for ambient noise. Section 9.8.101 separately makes it unlawful to make, create, or permit an excessive or unusually loud noise 'which can be heard without the use of an electronic measurement device,' so a violation can be proved by ear even without a meter reading. Section 9.8.105 allows a temporary daytime-only increase of 10 dB(A) for up to 15 minutes in any one-hour period. Relief from the limits is available only by hardship permit under section 9.8.109.
Noise that meets or exceeds the zone/time dB(A) limit is unlawful and prosecutable in Colorado Springs Municipal Court; the police non-emergency line (719-444-7000) takes disturbance reports. General penalties under Title 9 apply, and hardship-permit relief is available only under section 9.8.109.
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