Grand Forks, ND Public Conduct: Loud Party Ordinance (2026)

Grand Forks City Code section 9-0206 makes it unlawful for any party or gathering of two or more people to give rise to unreasonable noise likely to cause significant discomfort or annoyance to a reasonable person, judged against the time of day and the residential character of the area. Any owner of the premises, or tenant in charge of it, who has knowledge of the disturbance must cooperate with the responding law enforcement officer and make reasonable efforts to stop it. The ordinance sets an objective evidentiary shortcut for prosecutors: noise clearly audible fifty feet from the structure, or in an adjoining hallway or apartment for multi-unit buildings, is prima facie evidence of a violation, so an officer does not need a decibel meter to write a citation.

A second prima facie route applies to landlords: if the Grand Forks Police Department or another agency is called to the same tenant's address twice on one day or on successive days, or if an absentee owner has received written notice of three violations at a property within six months and police are called again, that pattern alone establishes the owner's or tenant's violation. Section 9-0206 classifies as a noncriminal breach of the peace under Chapter IX, Article 2, which is enforced by the Grand Forks Police Department and prosecuted in municipal court.