Melbourne noise ordinance

Melbourne limits sound by land use and time of day, from 55 dB at any time in a noise-sensitive zone to 70 dB until 1:30 a.m. in the downtown entertainment noise district (Melbourne City Code, Section 26-25).

The Melbourne limit that counts is the one where the sound lands, not just where it starts. The code's own example says the 55 dB limit for a noise-sensitive zone may not be exceeded by noise coming from a residential area, even between 7:00 a.m. and 10:00 p.m. when the residential limit is 60 dB (Section 26-25(a)). Two adjustments tighten the table: a source that emits a pure tone has its limit reduced by 5 dB, and impulsive sounds may not exceed 60 dB in a noise-sensitive zone or 65 dB in a residential area at any time without a variance. The ordinance applies throughout the incorporated City of Melbourne (Section 26-21).

The downtown entertainment noise district is the land and street right-of-way shown on the map attached as Exhibit A to Melbourne Ordinance No. 2010-50, and where the map and the written description differ, the map controls (Melbourne City Code, Section 26-23).

The Melbourne written description runs through platted blocks of downtown, including parts of Camps Plat of Melbourne, Powell's Resubdivision and La Bertha Lawn, and takes in the New Haven Avenue right-of-way eastward to U.S. Highway No. 1 along with segments of McQuaid Street, Livingston Street and Waverly Place (Section 26-23, definitions). The other categories are defined by use: category B covers residential areas, residences, hotels, motels, picnic and recreation areas, playgrounds, active sports areas and parks, and category C covers commercial, professional and office areas plus land zoned for industrial or commercial production (Section 26-25, Table 1). A noise-sensitive zone is a quiet zone where serenity and quiet are of extraordinary significance, marked by conspicuous signage while it is open or in session.

Yes: between 10:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m., Melbourne prohibits any sound whose volume, duration and character annoys, disturbs, injures or endangers the comfort, health, peace or safety of reasonable people of ordinary sensibilities (Melbourne City Code, Section 26-27(c)).

That Melbourne nighttime rule stands beside the decibel limits rather than replacing them. At any hour, no one may produce sound above the section 26-25 limits measured under section 26-26, and no one may produce vibration that can be felt or noticed at or beyond the property line of the lot it comes from (Section 26-27(a) and (b)). Exempt activities and anyone holding a variance are outside the nighttime rule. Vehicle stereos fall under state law as well: section 316.3045, Florida Statutes, bars sound from a vehicle's radio or other device that is plainly audible at 25 feet or more, or louder than needed for the people inside in areas next to homes, churches, schools or hospitals, and lets a local authority adopt more stringent rules (section 316.3045, Florida Statutes).

Melbourne exempts household and farming tools that meet the maker's sound specifications from 7:00 a.m. until 10:00 p.m., and permitted construction during the same hours, along with a list of public-safety, transportation and recreation sounds (Melbourne City Code, Section 26-28).

Other Melbourne exemptions include railway, aircraft and airport activity under federal rules, law enforcement activities, emergency signals, emergency testing between 7:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m., refuse collection vehicles not exceeding 86 dB, scheduled organized athletic contests and marching band practice at publicly owned facilities, supervised fireworks displays and other lawful use of fireworks, and lawn mowing or maintenance done by the city (Section 26-28). Emergency power generators are exempt at any time during a power outage caused by a natural disaster such as a hurricane. The exemption for in-vehicle sound systems on streets does not reach business or political vehicles that use soundmaking devices in the normal course of their business, which remain under the Melbourne article.

Melbourne measures sound with a sound level meter at a point no closer to the source than the property line of the property the sound comes from, over a period of at least five minutes (Melbourne City Code, Section 26-26).

The Melbourne code sets the rest of the method too. The reading is taken about five feet above the ground or water surface, away from obstructions and reflecting surfaces, with a windscreen when wind could bias it; meters and filter sets must conform to the named ANSI standards; and measurements are made by people trained in a noise measurement program the city approves (Section 26-26). The sound measured has to be representative of the sound that prompted the complaint. The ordinance's definitions name city code enforcement officers and city police officers as the people who may enforce it (Section 26-23).

A noisy party in Melbourne is a non-emergency call to the Melbourne Police Department at 321-608-6731, the same line the department lists for fireworks, hotrods and minibikes (Contact Melbourne Police page).

The same Melbourne page keeps 911 for emergencies that demand immediate action, a fire being one example it gives (Contact Melbourne Police page). For a continuing code problem at a specific address, the Melbourne Code Compliance Division takes requests for service by phone 24 hours a day at 321-608-7900 and asks callers for the address or exact location and a full description of the problem (Melbourne Code Enforcement page).

Remedies are set in the Melbourne code. Violations of section 26-27 are handled as provided in section 1-14 of the city code or Florida Statutes chapter 162, and the city council or any substantially affected person may also sue in the circuit court of the county to stop a violation (Sections 26-31 and 26-32).

A Melbourne special activity permit allows 65 dB at the event boundary from 9:00 a.m. to midnight, and the board of adjustment can grant noise variances for up to 365 days (City Code 26-25 and 26-29).

Event sound in Melbourne still has a ceiling at the neighbors' line: it may not exceed the maximum level for any land use next to the event, and amplified music and entertainment must stop at 11:00 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and midnight Friday and Saturday unless the permit extends those hours (Section 26-25). The special activity article repeats that the decibel level during a special event may not exceed the level set in section 26-25, and the City Clerk, who otherwise grants many temporary waivers for events, has no power to waive the noise and vibration control ordinance (Melbourne City Code, Sections 2-688 and 2-672). The Melbourne special activity permits guide explains how those permits are obtained.

A Melbourne noise variance application goes to the board of adjustment and must show that compliance would be a practical difficulty, with the applicant's name and mailing address, a legal description of the property, a description of the sound source and the sound, and the reasons for the request (Section 26-29). The board weighs that difficulty against the effect on public health, safety and welfare, may grant only the minimum variance needed, and states its reasons in writing.

Last verified: October 21, 2026, by re-reading article II of Melbourne's chapter 26 and sections 2-672 and 2-688, the Contact Melbourne Police and Code Enforcement pages, and the 2025 text of section 316.3045.