Josephine County, OR Noise Ordinances: Quiet Hours (2026)

040. window, the ordinance defines the offense functionally: a person commits 'excessive noise' by intentionally or recklessly making or allowing unreasonable noise that annoys or alarms one or more people. 040(2) tells the trier of fact, meaning the judge or jury in a violation proceeding, to weigh the volume, character, duration and time of day of the noise in deciding whether it was unreasonable. That last factor means noise made at night is more likely to be found excessive than the identical noise at midday, functioning as a de facto nighttime standard even without a printed curfew.

040(3) classifies excessive noise as a violation, not a crime, and states that all provisions of the Oregon Criminal Code concerning violations apply to this chapter, which routes procedure, such as citation and fine mechanics, to the state violations statute rather than a county-specific schedule. 030, is protecting public peace that the Board found to be adversely affected by excessive noise.