Passaic County, NJ Noise Ordinances: Quiet Hours (2026)

Passaic County operates under a county executive form of government, but New Jersey is a strong home rule state: under N.J.S.A. 40:48-1 (general municipal police powers) and N.J.S.A. 40:55D (Municipal Land Use Law), municipalities - not counties - regulate residential noise. The County's role on noise is essentially limited to the Passaic County Sheriff supporting municipal police on county roads and to the County's own facilities (parks, courthouse, golf courses). The statewide framework is the New Jersey Noise Control Act of 1971 (N.J.S.A. 13:1G) and the implementing rules at N.J.A.C. 7:29, administered by the NJ Department of Environmental Protection. N.J.A.C. 7:29 sets sound level limits for stationary commercial and industrial sources measured at the receiving residential property line: 65 dB(A) from 7:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. and 50 dB(A) from 10:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m., with octave-band and impulsive-noise limits. N.J.A.C. 7:29 does NOT regulate residential-to-residential noise, motor vehicles, emergency vehicles, or construction. Each Passaic municipality has its own ordinance: Paterson Municipal Code Chapter 337 (Noise) was adopted Jan. 22, 1991 and substantially amended May 9, 2017; it incorporates the N.J.A.C. 7:29 decibel limits and works alongside Chapter 341 (Nuisances). Clifton, Wayne, Passaic City, Hawthorne, North Haledon, Pompton Lakes, Ringwood, Totowa, Little Falls, Wanaque, West Milford, Woodland Park, Bloomingdale, Haledon, and Prospect Park each have separately adopted noise codes - typically with quiet hours running 10:00 or 11:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m. Construction noise, leaf blowers, and barking dogs are usually addressed in each town's separate ordinances.