It is declared that at certain levels noise is detrimental to public health, comfort, convenience, safety and welfare of the citizens of the town. This chapter is enacted to protect, preserve and promote the health, welfare, peace and quiet of the citizens of Taos through the reduction, prohibition and regulation of noise.
It is the intent of this chapter to establish and provide for sound levels that will eliminate unnecessary and excessive noise, reduce traffic and community noise and establish noise standards and sound levels that will promote a comfortable enjoyment of life, property and conduct of business and prevent sound levels which are harmful and detrimental to individuals and the community.
(1981 Code, sec. 13-13; Ordinance 97-40, sec. 1, adopted 1997)
A. 
It is a violation of this chapter for any person to make, continue, or cause to be made or continued, any excessive, unnecessary, or unusually loud noise which unreasonably annoys, disturbs, injures, or endangers the comfort, repose, health, peace, or safety of others.
B. 
A red tag may be posted on a property explaining the nature of the violations when a Code Official or the Planning Department determine that the property has immediate and major safety violations of state or local codes indicating that a building, structure, or business has significant and immediate hazards threatening the health, safety and welfare of the Community that must be addressed.
C. 
A posted red tag shall cause the closure, or restriction of use, of a property until the violations are corrected and a re-inspection is passed.
D. 
The owner of a property bearing a posted red tag must bring the property into compliance within a specific time frame by addressing all cited violations. This may involve hiring a contractor, obtaining proper permits, and performing any required work. If the owner fails to address all violations, the Town of Taos may take further action, which may include fines, liens on the property, or demolition.
E. 
Any person other than a Code Official who removes a posted red tag shall be guilty of a petty misdemeanor and, upon conviction, subject to a fine not exceeding three hundred dollars ($300.00) or to a sentence of confinement not exceeding ninety days in jail, or both.
F. 
Each day a wrongfully removed red tag remains unposted shall constitute a separate offense subject to the penalties listed above.
G. 
The removal of a posted red tag by anyone other than a Code Official shall result in an immediate issuance of a citation, starting the three hundred dollar ($300.00) a day fine.
(1981 Code, sec. 13-13; Ordinance 97-40, sec. 2, adopted 1997; Ordinance 26-03 adopted 2/24/2026)
A. 
Maximum permissible sound levels.
It is a violation of this chapter for any person to operate or permit to be operated any source of sound in such a manner as to exceed for nine (9) minutes out of any ten (10) minute period the limits set forth for the following receiving land use districts when measured at the boundary or at any point within the property affected by the noise:
TABLE 8.24.030. MAXIMUM PERMISSIBLE SOUND LEVELS
Zone District
9 p.m. - 7 a.m.
7 a.m. - 9 p.m.
Residential
45 dbA
50 dbA
Commercial-agricultural-industrial
55 dbA
60 dbA
When a noise source can be identified and its noise measured in more than one land use category, the limits of the most restrictive use shall apply at the boundaries between different land use categories.
B. 
Correction for duration of sound.
1. 
The noise level exceeds the above established zone level by a measured sound pressure of fifteen (15) dbA;
2. 
The noise level exceeds the above established zone level by a measured sound pressure level of ten (10) dbA for a period of one minute or more out of any ten (10) minute period;
3. 
The noise level exceeds the above established zone level by a measured sound pressure level of three (3) dbA for a period of five (5) minutes or more out of any ten (10) minute period.
C. 
Construction activity.
It is a violation of this chapter for any person to operate, or cause to be used or operated, any equipment used in construction, repair, maintenance, alteration or demolition activity on buildings, structures, streets, alleys, or appurtenances thereto:
1. 
In any zone district between the hours of nine o’clock (9:00) p.m. to seven o’clock (7:00) a.m. the following day;
2. 
In any zone district where such operation exceeds by more than ten (10) dbA the sound level limits for an industrial land use as set forth in table 8.24.030 of this section.
(1981 Code, sec. 13-13; Ordinance 97-40, sec. 3, adopted 1997)
A. 
It is unlawful for any person to make, continue or cause to be made, any loud or unusual noise which either annoys, disturbs, injures or endangers the comfort, repose, health, peace or safety of others and which thereby constitutes a public nuisance. Unlawful noises constituting public nuisances include, but shall not be limited to, the following:
1. 
Horns and signal devices.
The sounding of any horn or signaling device of any automobile, motorcycle, truck or other vehicle on any street or public place, except as a danger warning:
a. 
Which creates any unreasonable, loud, or harsh sound;
b. 
For any unnecessary and unreasonable period of time, other than by accident or mechanical, electrical or other difficulty or failure; or
c. 
Where traffic is held up;
2. 
Radios and phonographs.
The use or operation of any radio, phonograph or other sound producing machine in such a manner as to disturb the peace or quiet of the neighbors;
3. 
Loudspeakers and amplifiers used for advertising.
The use or operation or permitting to be played, used, or operated any radio, receiver set, musical instrument, phonograph, tape recorder, loudspeaker, sound amplifier or other machine or device for the production or reproduction of sound which is cast upon the public streets for the purpose of commercial advertising or attracting the attention of the public in any residential area, except with the proper permit elsewhere prescribed in this code;
4. 
Yelling or shouting.
Yelling, shouting or creating other loud noises which annoy or disturb the quiet, comfort or repose of persons in any office, dwelling, hotel or residence, or of any persons in the vicinity;
5. 
Animals.
The keeping of any animals which, by causing frequent or long continuous noise, shall disturb the comfort or repose of any persons in the vicinity;
6. 
Schools, courts, churches, hospitals.
The creating of any excessive noise on any street adjacent to any hospital, school, institution of learning, church or court which interferes with the workings of such institution or which disturbs or annoys patients in a hospital;
7. 
Pounding.
The pounding or hammering on any metal object or thing, except inside a building or in connection with the construction or erection of a building.
B. 
Whoever commits a public nuisance in violation of this section is guilty of a petty misdemeanor.
(1981 Code, sec. 13-13; Ordinance 97-40, sec. 4, adopted 1997)
The following uses and activities shall be exempt from noise level regulations:
A. 
Noise of safety signals, warning devices and emergency pressure relief valves;
B. 
Noise resulting from any authorized emergency vehicle when responding to an emergency call or acting in time of emergency;
C. 
Noise resulting from emergency work;
D. 
Noise resulting from lawful fireworks and noisemakers used for celebration of an official holiday;
E. 
Any noise resulting from activities of temporary duration permitted by law for which a license or permit has been approved by the town manager in accordance with section 8.24.060 of this chapter.
(1981 Code, sec. 13-13; Ordinance 97-40, sec. 5, adopted 1997; editorially amended during 1998 codification)
A. 
Application for a permit for relief from the noise restrictions in this chapter on the basis of undue hardship may be made to the town police department. Any permit granted by the town manager or his authorized representative shall contain all conditions upon which said permit has been granted, including, but not limited to, the effective dates, any time of day, location, sound pressure level, or equipment limitation. The relief requested may be granted upon good and sufficient showing:
1. 
That additional time is necessary for the applicant to alter or modify his activity or operation to comply with this chapter; or
2. 
That the activity, operation, or noise source will be of temporary duration and cannot be done in a manner that would comply with this chapter; and
3. 
That no reasonable alternative is available to the applicant.
B. 
The town manager may prescribe any reasonable conditions or requirements deemed necessary to minimize adverse effects upon a community or the surrounding neighborhood.
(1981 Code, sec. 13-13; Ordinance 97-40, sec. 6, adopted 1997; editorially amended during 1998 codification)
A. 
No person shall drive or move or cause or knowingly permit to be driven or moved a motor vehicle or combination of vehicles at any time in such a manner as to exceed the noise limits in table 8.24.030 [8.24.070] of this chapter for the category of motor vehicle shown below. Noise shall be measured at a distance of at least twenty-five feet (25') from the near side of the nearest lane being monitored and at a height of at least four feet (4') above the immediate surrounding surface.
TABLE 8.24.070. SOUND PRESSURE LEVEL, dbA
 
Speed Limit
40 mph or Less
Speed Limit
Over 40 mph
Motor vehicles with a manufacturer’s gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR) or gross combination weight rating (GCWR) of 10,000 pounds or more, or any combination of vehicles towed by such motor vehicle
90
94
Any other motor vehicle or any combination of vehicles towed by any motor vehicle
77
81
B. 
This section shall apply to the total noise from a vehicle or combination of vehicles and shall not be construed as limiting or precluding the enforcement of any other provisions of this code relating to motor vehicle mufflers for noise control.
C. 
No person shall operate or cause to be operated any motor vehicle unless the exhaust system of such vehicle is:
1. 
Free from defects which affect sound reduction;
2. 
Equipped with a muffler or other noise dissipating device;
3. 
Not equipped with any cutout, bypass or similar device; and
4. 
Not modified in a manner which will amplify or increase the noise emitted by the motor of such vehicle above that emitted by a muffler of the type originally installed on the vehicle.
(1981 Code, sec. 13-13; Ordinance 97-40, sec. 7, adopted 1997)
The town police department shall have primary, but not exclusive, enforcement responsibility for this chapter.
(1981 Code, sec. 13-13; Ordinance 97-40, sec. 8, adopted 1997)
Sound level measurements shall be made with a sound level meter using the A-weighting scale, in accordance with standards promulgated by the American National Standards Institute or other reasonable standards adopted and tested by the town police department.
(1981 Code, sec. 13-13; Ordinance 97-40, sec. 9, adopted 1997)
Violations of sections 8.24.030 through 8.24.060 of this chapter are deemed and declared to be a nuisance, and as such may be subject to summary abatement by means of a restraining order or injunction issued by a court of competent jurisdiction.
(1981 Code, sec. 13-13; Ordinance 97-40, sec. 10, adopted 1997)
A. 
Any person violating any provision of this chapter may be punished by a fine of not less than ten dollars ($10.00) nor more than three hundred dollars ($300.00), by imprisonment not to exceed ninety (90) days, or by both. Each day such violation is committed, or permitted to continue, shall constitute a separate offense subject to penalty.
B. 
A red tag may be posted on a property explaining the nature of the violations upon determination by a Code Official or the Planning Department that the property has immediate and major safety violations of state or local codes indicating that a building, structure, or business has significant and immediate hazards threatening the health, safety, and welfare of the Community that must be addressed.
C. 
A posted red tag shall cause the closure, or restriction of use, of a property until the violations are corrected and a re-inspection is passed.
D. 
The owner of a property bearing a posted red tag must bring the property into compliance within a specific time frame by addressing all cited violations. This may involve hiring a contractor, obtaining proper permits, and performing any required work. If the owner fails to address all violations, the Town of Taos may take further action, which may include fines, liens on the property, or demolition.
E. 
Any person, other than a Code Official, who removes a posted red tag shall be guilty of a petty misdemeanor and, upon conviction, subject to a fine not exceeding three hundred dollars ($300.00) or to a sentence of confinement not exceeding ninety days in jail, or both.
F. 
Each day a wrongfully removed red tag remains unposted shall constitute a separate offense and shall be subject to the penalties listed above.
G. 
The removal of a red tag by anyone other than a Code Official shall result in the immediate issuance of a citation, starting the three hundred dollar ($300.00) a day fine.
(1981 Code, sec. 13-13; Ordinance 97-40, sec. 12, adopted 1997; Ordinance 26-03 adopted 2/24/2026)