De Pere, WI Noise Ordinances: Quiet Hours (2026)

Section 146-7(4) of the De Pere Code of Ordinances carves out an exemption from the numeric noise standards of Section 146-9 for power equipment used to maintain property, things like lawn mowers, small lawn and garden tools, riding tractors and snow removal equipment, so long as the equipment is kept in good repair. That exemption comes with a hard stop on when the equipment can run, with a special carve-out for snow removal equipment because winter emergencies do not wait for daylight.

The same 10:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m. window recurs throughout the chapter as the boundary between 'day or daytime,' defined in Section 146-3 as 7:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m., and nighttime. Section 146-9's Table 1-1 drops the maximum permissible sound level at every zone category once that boundary is crossed, for example from 57 dB(A) to 52 dB(A) in residential zones, so the ten o'clock cutoff for yard equipment lines up with the point where every other source of sound in the city also has to get quieter.

Enforcement falls to the health department, inspection department and police department jointly under Section 146-4, and excessive nighttime noise is treated as a public nuisance under Section 146-5, subject to summary abatement on top of any forfeiture.