Noise ordinances › Chesapeake, VA

Chesapeake noise ordinance: quiet hours, limits and complaints

Last updated: July 11, 2026

Quiet hours in Chesapeake

Sec. 26-124: 10:00 p.m. to 6:30 a.m. the following day Monday through Saturday, and 10:00 p.m. Saturday to 8:00 a.m. the following Sunday (amplified sound, music/TV, construction, powered equipment, engine revving/unmuffled vehicles, yelling/shouting/singing). Secs. 26-125 (commercial activity near residential) and 26-126 (animals) use 10:00 p.m. to 6:30 a.m. every day.

Decibel limits

Yes — dual system. (1) During quiet hours, the Sec. 26-124/125/126 acts are per se violations on a "plainly audible" standard (across property lines, through common walls, or at 50+ feet) — no meter needed. (2) At any time, Sec. 26-130 Table 1 sets sound-level-meter limits measured on the receiving property (A-weighted, fast response, by receiving property's zoning): Residential 55 dBA max overall; Commercial 60 dBA; Agricultural 60 dBA; plus per-octave-band dB caps (e.g., residential: 70 dB at 31.5 Hz down to 35 dB at 8,000 Hz). Impulsive or pure-tone noise (hammering, amplified bass, whine/hum): limits reduced by 5 dB (Sec. 26-130(c)).

What the ordinance actually says

Sec. 26-124: "The following acts are declared to be prohibited if conducted between the hours of 10:00 p.m. and 6:30 a.m. the following day Monday through Saturday and between 10:00 p.m. on Saturday and 8:00 a.m. the following Sunday and generating sound plainly audible i) across real property boundaries; ii) through walls or partitions common to two units within a building; or iii) at a distance of 50 feet or more from the source of the noise"

Sec. 26-130(b): "no person shall operate or cause to be operated any source of sound at any location within the city or allow the creation of any noise on property he or she owns, leases, occupies or otherwise controls, which causes the sound level, measured on any other property, to exceed the maximum dBA (Column 1) or maximum dB (Column 3) sound pressure levels set out in Table 1"

Sec. 26-131(b): "The violation of this article shall be deemed a class 4 misdemeanor punishable by a fine of not more than $250.00 per violation. Each occasion of violation shall constitute a separate offense."

Quoted verbatim from the official codified text (Chesapeake City Code, Part II, Chapter 26 (Environment), Article V — Noise, Secs. 26-121 to 26-143 (Divisions 1-4). Key sections: 26-124 (prohibited acts 10:00 p.m.–6:30 a.m.), 26-125 (acts adjacent to residential uses), 26-126 (animals), 26-129/26-130 (sound-level-meter standards and Table 1 maximum levels), 26-131 (penalty), 26-141 (exemptions), 26-142 (special permits). Article repealed and reenacted by Ord. No. 09-O-129 (Nov. 24, 2009), effective Feb. 1, 2010.). Verified against the live code on 2026-07-11. Ordinances get amended — before acting on a specific provision, check the linked official code. This page is a plain-language summary, not legal advice.

How to file a noise complaint in Chesapeake

Chesapeake Police non-emergency line, 757-382-6161 (city page "Reporting Non-Emergencies": "For non-emergency situations, please call the Police Department's non-emergency number at 757-382-6161" — https://www.cityofchesapeake.net/3729/Reporting-Non-Emergencies; the Citizens' Online Police Reporting System does not list noise as a category). Additionally, Sec. 26-127 lets any citizen with sufficient evidence make affidavit directly to the Chesapeake Magistrate for a summons or warrant — police corroboration is expressly not required.

For the general playbook — documenting the problem, talking to a landlord or HOA, when 311 beats 911 — see the noise complaints guide.

Worth knowing

Penalties are two-track: civil penalty of $250 first offense / $500 each subsequent (Sec. 26-131(a)) or a Class 4 misdemeanor up to $250 (26-131(b)) — but civil summonses cannot be issued for railroad noise, permitted mining areas, or business operations on industrial property. Unusual citizen-enforcement clause (Sec. 26-127): residents can swear out a summons before the Magistrate with no police corroboration. Animal noise (Sec. 26-126) needs 10+ minutes (consecutive or not) within any 30-minute window overnight. Business safe harbor (Sec. 26-125): an owner escapes liability for contractor noise (street sweeping, trash pickup, truck loading) if they previously mailed the code section to the contractor AND posted a sign listing the prohibited activities. 20 exemptions (Sec. 26-141) include HVAC units, generators during outages, church music during worship, railroads, FAA aircraft, farm operations, and ALL lawful activity in M-1/M-2/M-3 industrial districts. Special permits to exceed limits are available from the director of development and permits, appealable to city council (Sec. 26-142). No specific construction-hours section — construction is simply one of the acts banned during the 10 p.m.–6:30 a.m. (Sun 8 a.m.) window and is otherwise governed by the Table 1 meter limits.

Document it before you report it

Chesapeake's limits are measured numbers, so a reading is direct evidence of how loud it really is. Take a quick reading with the free online decibel meter — it runs in your browser and records nothing — and check how loud your block is on the Chesapeake noise map. For time-stamped measurement history you can show a landlord or code officer, the app keeps a log.