Quiet hours in Waukesha County, WI — also called the noise ordinance, nighttime noise rules, or residential quiet time — define the hours during which excessive noise is prohibited.
Waukesha County does not have a countywide residential quiet-hours rule - the County Code (Chapters 1-18 plus Appendices A-E) addresses zoning, parks, public works and law enforcement, not nightly noise standards. Noise is regulated by each city, village and town under home-rule authority granted by Wis. Stat. sec. 62.23, sec. 61.35 and sec. 60.61. The City of Waukesha treats unreasonable noise as a public nuisance under its Code of Ordinances Chapter 26. Village of Elm Grove restricts construction, demolition and power equipment to 7:30 a.m. - 8:00 p.m. weekdays, 9:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. Saturdays, with no use Sundays or federal holidays. Wis. Stat. sec. 947.01 (disorderly conduct) is the statewide backstop for unreasonably loud or disturbing conduct.
The Waukesha County Code of Ordinances (organized in Chapters 1 through 18 with Appendices A through E covering zoning, shoreland, airport height, shoreland-floodland subdivision control, and floodland protection) does not establish residential quiet hours - county authority focuses on zoning, parks, public works, and the airport rather than on residential noise. Each of Waukesha County's 37 municipalities (cities such as Brookfield, Delafield, Muskego, New Berlin, Oconomowoc, Pewaukee and Waukesha; villages such as Big Bend, Butler, Chenequa, Dousman, Eagle, Elm Grove, Hartland, Lannon, Menomonee Falls, Merton, Mukwonago, Nashotah, North Prairie, Pewaukee, Sussex and Wales; and towns such as Brookfield, Delafield, Eagle, Genesee, Lisbon, Merton, Mukwonago, Oconomowoc, Ottawa, Summit, Vernon and Waukesha) sets its own noise standards. The City of Waukesha defines a public nuisance under City Code Chapter 26 to include 'noise of any kind tending to unreasonably disturb the peace and quiet of persons in the vicinity.' The Village of Elm Grove (Section 208) prohibits construction, excavation, demolition or power equipment except 7:30 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. Monday through Friday and 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Saturday, with no use on Sundays or federal holidays. Village of Eagle Ordinance #218 prohibits loud and unnecessary noise, with quiet hours typical of small Waukesha County villages. Wisconsin Statutes sec. 947.01 (disorderly conduct) authorizes any peace officer in the county to cite unreasonably loud, boisterous, or disturbing conduct as a Class B misdemeanor, providing a uniform statewide backstop where the local code is silent or hard to enforce. Most municipal codes also address barking dogs, refuse collection windows, motor vehicle exhaust noise, and amplified sound under separate sections.
Municipal noise nuisance citations in Waukesha County are typically issued as civil forfeitures by the city, village or town police department, with first-offense fines often in the $100 to $500 range plus court costs and continuing daily violations. Construction outside permitted hours is enforced by the local building inspector or police. A Wis. Stat. sec. 947.01 disorderly-conduct charge is a Class B misdemeanor punishable by up to 90 days in jail and a $1,000 fine. Repeat or aggravated violations can lead to abatement orders against the source.
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