The Resolution Path
1. Local Ordinance
2. Document Evidence
3. Resolve Dispute
The Resolution Path
Step 1 of 3Bend, OR
Noise Ordinance Overview
You’ve located the ordinance. Now, compare your situation against the legal thresholds to build your case.
Official Decibel Limits
volume_up"Decibel limits are measured on a property other than the source of the sound, containing a residence or other noise-sensitive unit. For properties without a residence or noise-sensitive unit, limits are 85 dBA daytime and 80 dBA nighttime. Police are required to use decibel meters for commercial businesses when issuing citations after 10 p.m."
AI Executive Summary
Bend, OR noise ordinances, outlined in Bend Code Chapter 5.50, prohibit excessive noise and establish specific decibel limits for residential, commercial, and industrial zones. Quiet hours are strictly enforced between 10:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m., with lower decibel thresholds during these times. Violations can lead to civil infractions and escalating fines.
Specific Noise Restrictions
Construction
Constructing, demolishing, altering, or repairing a building, street, sidewalk, driveway, sewer, or utility line is prohibited between 10:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m. Sounds from air, electrical, or gas-driven domestic tools, including lawn and construction tools, are generally permitted between 7:00 a.m. and 10:00 p.m.
Amplified Sound
Using or operating a mechanical or electrical speaker or amplifier that creates noise plainly audible at the property line of a residence or noise-sensitive unit (other than the property where generated) is prohibited between 10:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m. Noise Variance Permits can be obtained for events that may exceed noise levels or time limits.
Animals
No specific decibel limits for animals are mentioned, but general prohibitions against 'unnecessarily loud' noise apply. Animal control can be reached via the non-emergency police number.
Vehicles
Prohibited acts include the excessive sounding of horns (except as danger signals), operation of gongs or sirens (except emergency vehicles during parades), use of vehicles out of repair/without legal exhaust or creating unnecessarily loud noise at 50 feet, or unnecessarily loud vehicle use outside public rights-of-way. The use of exhaust brakes (jake brakes) is prohibited at all times, except in emergencies or for emergency services vehicles with muffled systems.
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