Broomfield, CO Noise Ordinances: Vehicle Noise (2026)

Municipal Code § 9-36-050(a) requires every steam engine, internal combustion engine, air compressor, motor boat, motor vehicle, or other power device to run a properly maintained exhaust system with a muffler or spark arrestor, and separately makes it unlawful to operate a muffler or exhaust system fitted with a cut-out, bypass, or similar device that lets exhaust noise escape unmuffled. Subsection (b) is a flat citywide ban on air compression brakes, commonly called jake brakes, unless the city traffic engineer has specifically authorized their use; there is no default exception for trucks descending grades or slowing at intersections.

This section was last amended by Ord. No. 2133 in 2020 and sits in the same noise chapter as the district-based decibel schedule in § 9-36-020, but it is a separate, equipment-based prohibition that applies regardless of measured decibel level: a truck with a cut-out exhaust or an unauthorized jake brake is in violation even if a sound meter reading would otherwise fall under the applicable Schedule 9-36A limit. Enforcement is by the Broomfield Police Department, which can stop and cite a vehicle for a defective or modified exhaust system or for using compression brakes without traffic-engineer authorization.