Bay Area Edition | December 2025

Government

BY RACHEL LELAND

League City City Council approves new updates to noise ordinance

What they said

“This is so vague, and it’s so open to interpretation, it’s almost impossible to enforce.” TOM CREWS, LEAGUE CITY CITY COUNCIL

League City ocials recently updated the city’s noise ordinance to enforce a “general prohibition of unreasonable noise.” League City City Council approved the nal reading of the updated ordinance in a 7-1 vote at its Oct. 28 meeting with councilmember Tommy Cones Casting the sole vote against the ordinance. City Council previously voted 6-1 to approve the rst reading of the ordinance at its Oct. 14 meeting, with Cones also casting the sole vote against the rst reading of the ordi- nance. At the Oct. 14 meeting, councilmember Chad Tressler said a change to the noise ordinance was recommended as residents expressed concerns about the ordinance being too broad and vague. Another reason was due to the amplied noise portion of the ordinance, Tressler said. “The main one that folks brought up is, ‘I have a TV on my porch so I can watch the Astros play while I swim. Is that breaking the noise ordinance? Can I get a citation for it?’ Yeah, and it was because it dened all amplied noise,” he said. Prior to the vote on Oct. 14, Cones and coun- cilmember Tom Crews voted for an amend- ment to eliminate a portion of the ordinance regarding animals. This portion dened “unreasonable noise,” which included “repeated or sustained sounds made by an animal,” according to the ordi- nance.

Breaking it down

Amplied sound from a motor vehicle is prohibited if the sound is plainly audible at 50 or more feet from a vehicle. Applicants denied a permit or disputing a condition must appeal in writing within 10 working days. The city manager must issue a decision within 5 working days to consider a permit request.

“This is something that our citizens had reached out and said they wanted ... clear process and less government.” COURTNEY CHADWELL, LEAGUE CITY CITY COUNCIL

The ordinance establishes specic time periods for enforcement and exemptions:

Daytime hours are dened as 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.

The details

Nighttime hours are dened as 7:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m.

In determining whether noise is unreasonable, consideration may be given to the frequency, duration and recurrence of the sound in addition to its volume and location, according to previous reporting from Community Impact. The city will permit amplied sound that would otherwise be prohibited if the noise is part of an event for which organizers have secured a special event sound permit, according to city documents.

SOURCE: LEAGUE CITYCOMMUNITY IMPACT

“While we did already have something like this already in the ordinance, now’s the time to change it,” Crews said at the Oct. 14 meet- ing. “We already have this listed onto our animal control ordinances and that’s where it should be and that’s where it should stay.” While the amended ordinance recommended by Crews was denied in a 5-2 vote by City Council, Crews voted for the rst and second readings of the new noise ordinance.

COMMUNITYIMPACT.COM