Wayne, NJ Noise Ordinances: Quiet Hours (2026)

Wayne Township does not print a single curfew section. The closest thing to quiet hours is the last part of § 123-4, Disturbing the peace, which says the offense includes any other noise or sounds that are plainly audible and excessively loud, harsh, or unusual in time and occurrence. It then defines the timing: unusual time shall include, but not necessarily be limited to, the hours between 10:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m. on weekdays and between 11:00 p.m. and 9:00 a.m. on weekends. Because the list is not limited to those hours, a disturbance at another hour can still be cited if it unreasonably disturbs residents.

Other night limits in Chapter 121 stack on top. Portable, non-vehicular music devices on a public space or right-of-way cannot be plainly audible at 25 feet between 10:00 p.m. and 8:00 a.m., and the daytime distance from 8:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. is 50 feet under § 121-9(F). Vehicle music equipment follows the same 25 foot and 50 foot distances under § 121-10(C) and (D). Table IV in § 121-8 sets night windows for sound production devices measured inside a complainant's residence: week nights from 10:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m. and weekend nights from 11:00 p.m. to 9:00 a.m.

Residential yard and power tools are off limits from 8:00 p.m. to 8:00 a.m. under § 121-9(A), and construction and demolition stop at 6:00 p.m. under § 121-9(C).

The Chief of Police or designees enforce § 123-4 as Noise Control Investigators under § 123-5. The test is the plainly audible standard in § 123-1, defined by what a Noise Control Officer or Investigator hears with unaided hearing, so no sound level meter is needed.