Quiet hours in Milwaukee County, WI — also called the noise ordinance, nighttime noise rules, or residential quiet time — define the hours during which excessive noise is prohibited.
Milwaukee County itself sets no general quiet-hours ordinance for homes or businesses. It is nearly fully incorporated, so nighttime noise limits are set by each of its 19 cities or villages and by Wisconsin's disorderly-conduct statute. The county's only direct noise rule is a 50-foot sound limit in its parks.
Milwaukee County does not adopt countywide quiet hours. Wisconsin has no statewide noise law, and residents of the county's 19 municipalities (Milwaukee, Wauwatosa, West Allis, Greenfield, Oak Creek, Franklin, South Milwaukee, Cudahy, and others) fall under their own city or village noise ordinances, which set the actual nighttime windows. Statewide, Wis. Stat. sec. 947.01(1) makes 'unreasonably loud' conduct that provokes a disturbance a Class B misdemeanor, enforced by the responsible police agency. The only noise rule the COUNTY enforces directly is in Milwaukee County Code Chapter 47 (Parks and Parkways): sound devices in a county park may not be heard beyond 50 feet. For residential quiet hours, check your municipality's code.
There is no county quiet-hours citation. Municipal police enforce local noise ordinances, and Wisconsin disorderly conduct can be charged for unreasonably loud conduct. In county parks, Chapter 47 violations are enforced by Parks staff and the Sheriff's Office.
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