The County Council for Prince George's County, Maryland, hereby declares it to be the public policy of the County that every resident of the County is entitled to noise levels that are not detrimental to health, safety, or welfare and the use, enjoyment and protection of property; and the general intent of this Division is to control noise levels throughout the County so as to promote public health, safety, welfare, the peace and quiet of the inhabitants of the County.
For the purposes of this Division, the following words and phrases shall have the meanings respectively ascribed to them in this Section:
Commercial means anything other than a residential zone or industrial zone as set forth in Subtitle 27.
Construction means temporary activities directly associated with site preparation, assembly, erection, repair, alteration, or demolition of structures or roadways.
dBA means decibels of sound, as determined by the A-weighting network of a sound level meter or by calculation from octave band or one-third octave band data.
dBC means decibels of sound, as determined by the C-weighting network of a sound level meter or by calculation from octave band or one-third octave band data.
Daytime means the hours from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Decibel means a unit of measure equal to 10 times the logarithm to the base 10 of the ratio of a particular sound pressure squared to the standard reference pressure squared. The standard reference pressure is 20 micropascals.
Department shall mean the Department of Permitting, Inspections, and Enforcement or another authorized designee agency or department.
Director shall mean the Director of the Department of Permitting, Inspections, and Enforcement for Prince George's County, Maryland, or their authorized designee.
Enforcement officer means:
for a noise originating from any source:
an employee or agent of the Department designated by the Director to enforce this Division;
a police officer; or
for a noise originating from an animal source, the Director of the Animal Control Division or the Director's authorized designee within the Department of the Environment.
Industrial Zone means any property that has been zoned industrial.
Landlord shall mean the person who manages, leases, holds, or otherwise controls the property of an owner.
Nighttime means the hours from 9 p.m. to 7 a.m.
Noise means sound, created or controlled by human activity, from one or more sources, heard by an individual over a period of time.
Noise disturbance means any noise that is:
unpleasant, annoying, offensive, loud, or obnoxious;
unusual for the time of day or location where it is produced or heard;
detrimental to the health, comfort, quality of life, or safety of any individual or to the reasonable enjoyment of property or the lawful conduct of business because of the loudness, duration, or character of the noise or;
exceeds the objective standards of this Division.
Noise-suppression plan means a written plan to use the most effective noise-suppression equipment, materials, and methods appropriate and reasonably available for a particular type of construction.
Owner shall mean the person listed on the tax records of the County as the property owner.
Person means an individual, group of individuals, corporation, firm, partnership, or voluntary association; or a department, bureau, agency, or instrument of the County or any municipality, or of any other government to the extent allowed by law.
Police Chief or officer shall mean the Chief of the Prince George's County Police Department, a sworn member of the Prince George's County Police Department, or their authorized designee.
Receiving property means any real property where people live or work and where noise is heard, including an apartment, condominium unit, or cooperative building unit.
Residential means any property in a residential zone as set forth in Subtitle 27.
Residential area is an area located within a residential or rural and agricultural zone listed in Subtitle 27 of this Code, including residential areas abutting Transit-Oriented/Activity Center zones and mixed-use, commercial, and industrial areas as defined in Subtitle 27.
Recreational or Entertainment Establishment is an establishment as defined in Subtitle 27 of this Code.
Sound means an auditory sensation evoked by the oscillation of air pressure.
Source means any person, installation, device, or animal causing or contributing to noise.
Maximum allowable noise levels.
Except as otherwise provided in Section 19-122.01, a person must not cause or permit noise levels that exceed the following levels:
| Maximum Allowable Noise Levels (dBA) for Receiving Land Use Categories |
| Day/Night |
Industrial |
Commercial |
Residential |
| Day |
75 |
67 |
65 |
| Night |
75 |
62 |
55 |
A person must not cause or permit the emission of a prominent discrete tone or impulsive noise that exceeds a level, at the location on a receiving property where noise from the source is greatest, that is 5 dBA lower than the level set in paragraph (1) for the applicable noise area and time. Impulsive noise may include, for example, noise from weapons fire, pile drivers, or punch presses.
A person may not cause or permit, beyond the property line of a source, vibration of sufficient intensity to cause another person to be aware of the vibration by such direct means as sensation of touch or visual observation of moving objects. The observer shall be located at or within the property line of the receiving property when vibration determinations are made.
A person may not operate or permit to be operated an off-road internal combustion engine powered recreational vehicle, including, but not limited to, a dirt bike, an all-terrain vehicle, a go cart, a snowmobile, or a similar vehicle, on private property closer than 300 feet to a neighboring residence or the associated curtilage, without the written permission of the affected resident, unless it can be demonstrated to the Department that the vehicle can be operated within the noise limits specified in paragraph (1) above.
Sound that crosses between residential and non-residential areas must not exceed the level set in paragraph (1) for residential noise areas.
For an alleged noise disturbance which results in part from low frequency sound (20 — 200 Hz), the maximum allowable noise levels may be measured dBC.
Noise disturbance. A person must not cause or permit noise that creates a noise disturbance.
Examples. The following examples illustrate common noise-producing acts that violate this section if they exceed the noise level standards set in subsection (a) or create a noise disturbance. The examples are illustrative only and do not limit or expand the noise level or noise disturbance standards of this section:
Sounding a horn or other signaling device on any motor vehicle on private property except:
in an emergency; or
as a danger warning signal during daytime hours if the device complies with noise level limits.
Operating a sound-producing device on public streets for commercial advertising or to attract public attention.
Selling anything by outcry.
Loading, unloading, opening, closing or otherwise handling containers, building materials, construction equipment, or similar objects.
Operating a device that produces, reproduces, or amplifies sound.
Allowing an animal to create a noise disturbance.
Maximum allowable noise levels for construction.
A person must not cause or permit noise levels from construction activity that exceed the following levels:
From 7 a.m. to 6 p.m.:
75 dBA if the Department has not approved a noise-suppression plan for the activity; or
85 dBA if the Department has approved a noise-suppression plan for the activity.
The level specified in Section 19-122(a) at all other times.
Construction noise levels must be measured at the location, at least 50 feet from the source, on a receiving property where noise from the source is greatest.
The Department must establish requirements for noise-suppression plans and adopt procedures for evaluating and approving plans. The requirements must provide that, at least 10 days before approving a noise-suppression plan, the Director must provide public notice reasonably calculated to reach at least a majority of households that might be affected by the construction activity noise levels above 75 dBA.
Construction noise disturbance. The prohibition on noise disturbance in Section 19-122(b) applies to construction activities, notwithstanding subsection (a).
The provisions of this regulation may not apply to devices used solely for the purpose of warning, protecting, or alerting the public, or some segment thereof, of the existence of an emergency or hazardous situation.
The provisions of this regulation do not apply to the following:
Household tools and portable appliances in normal usage during daytime hours;
Lawn care and snow removal equipment (daytime only) when used between the hours of 7:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. and maintained in accordance with the manufacturer's specifications;
Agricultural field machinery when used and maintained in accordance with manufacturer's specifications on more than five (5) acres or outside of one hundred (100) feet of the property line;
Blasting operations for demolition, construction, and mining or quarrying (daytime only);
Motor vehicles on public roads;
Aircraft and related airport operations at airports licensed by the Maryland Aviation Administration;
Boats on State waters or motor vehicles on State lands under the jurisdiction of the Department of Natural Resources;
Emergency operations;
Pile driving equipment during the daytime hours of 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.;
Sound, except those sounds that are electronically amplified, between 7 a.m. and midnight, created by:
Sporting events (except trap shooting, skeet shooting, or other target shooting);
Entertainment events; and
Other public gatherings operating under permit or permission of the appropriate local jurisdiction;
Rapid rail transit vehicles and railroads;
Construction and repair work on public property;
Air conditioning or heat pump equipment used to cool or heat housing on residential property; for this equipment, a person may not cause or permit noise levels which exceed 70 dBA for air conditioning equipment at receiving residential property and 75 dBA for heat pump equipment at receiving residential property;
Household pets on residential property that are maintained in accordance with local zoning requirements;
Trap shooting, skeet shooting, or other target shooting between the hours of 9 a.m. and 9 p.m. on a range or other property of a shooting sports club that is chartered and in operation as of January 1, 2001;
Trash collection operations between the hours of 7 a.m. and 10 p.m.
Marina equipment used to move boats during the period from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. provided that the noise level does not exceed 80 dBA at 20 meters from the equipment; or
A source or condition expressly subject to any State or federal noise-control law or regulation that is more stringent than this Division.
The events and gatherings under paragraph (b)(10) include, but are not limited to, athletic contests, amusement parks, carnivals, fairs at fairgrounds, sanctioned auto racing facilities, parades, demonstrations, and public celebrations.
Any person, who after instructed to cease the noise, shall allow or cause a continued violation of this Section shall, upon conviction, be guilty of a misdemeanor and subject to a fine not exceeding $1,000.00 for a first offense, and $1,500.00 for each subsequent offense or imprisonment not exceeding thirty (30) days, or both such fine and imprisonment. Each day a violation continues is a separate offense.
As an alternative to criminal action, the Director, Police Chief, enforcement officer or police officer may issue a civil citation for any violation of this Section not exceeding $1,000.00 for a first offense, and $1,500.00 for each subsequent offense.
Violations of this Section may be reviewed by the Administrative Court as established in Subtitle 13, Division 15.
The Director, Chief of Police, police officer, enforcement officer, or a designee may issue a civil citation to the owner or landlord of the building or premises from which noise in violation of Section 19-122 of this title emanates, if more than two civil citations have been filed against an occupant, at one address, within a one-year period.
The Director, Chief of Police, police officer, enforcement officer, or a designee may issue additional civil citations for each subsequent violation within 6 months after the initial citation of the owner or landlord.
Before issuing a citation, the Director, Chief of Police, enforcement officer, police officer or a designee shall send by certified mail or deliver written notice to the owner or landlord that two citations have been filed under Section 19-122 of this title within a 60-day period.
The Department must issue regulations establishing the equipment and techniques it will use to measure sound levels. The Department may rely on currently accepted standards of recognized organizations, including the American National Standards Institute (ANSI), American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM), and the United States Environmental Protection Agency.
If the Department adopts regulations based on currently accepted standards of recognized organizations referenced in subsection(s), a prima facia violation may be established by the Department utilizing a commercially available noise meter that complies with the standards in subsection (a).
For multiple sources of sound, the Department may measure sound levels at any point to determine the source of a noise.
The Department shall issue regulations establishing the equipment and techniques it will use to measure vibrations effective July 1, 2026.