Lansing weighs “plainly audible” noise rules that target exhausts rigged to bang like gunfire

LANSING, Mich. — Lansing is moving toward a noise ordinance that police could enforce without a sound meter, and a main target is the car or motorcycle exhaust built to crack like a firecracker or a gunshot.

Council members Ryan Kost and Trini Pehlivanoglu have been working with city attorneys on the changes because residents often complain to them about modified vehicles, the Lansing State Journal reported Monday.

The draft, dated Aug. 26 and included in the packet for the council’s Oct. 1 Committee on Public Safety meeting, would rewrite Chapter 654 of the city code. Its stated purpose is to replace references to decibel readings with a “plainly audible” standard measured at set distances that change with the time of day. Council President Peter Spadafore introduced the ordinance, according to the packet.

For vehicles, the draft lists as violations any exhaust that is not routed through a muffler or other device that prevents loud or explosive noise, and the use of any device that artificially creates a loud or explosive noise. A car stereo would break the rule if it can be heard more than 50 feet away between 7 a.m. and midnight, or more than 30 feet away overnight. The draft defines “plainly audible” as any sound a person can detect by ear and says the thump of a bass line is enough.

The draft also carries a provision drivers should note: in a prosecution, proof that a vehicle was used in a violation, together with proof of who owned it, would create a presumption that the registered owner was the one driving.

The rewrite reaches beyond the street. Music or other amplified sound from a property would be limited to what cannot be heard 100 feet from the property line during the day and 30 feet after midnight. Places of public entertainment would get 500 feet by day and 100 feet overnight. The draft would apply the chapter to all property in the city, while exempting industrial noise made on industrial property, and it adds exemptions for publicly owned facilities and school property.

A resolution on the committee’s Oct. 1 agenda would set a public hearing for 7 p.m. Monday, Oct. 26, in the Tony Benavides Lansing City Council Chambers on the 10th floor of City Hall, 124 W. Michigan Ave. Under the draft, the changes would take effect 14 days after the council adopts them unless it gives them immediate effect. Residents can send comments to city.council@lansingmi.gov or call 517-483-4177, according to the agenda.

Sources:
City of Lansing, Committee on Public Safety agenda packet, Oct. 1, 2026, including “Draft #2” of the Chapter 654 noise ordinance amendments and the resolution setting a public hearing, https://lansingmi.api.civicclerk.com/v1/Meetings/GetMeetingFileStream(fileId=15886,plainText=false)
DeFlock The USA, “In the minutes: Lansing Committee on Public Safety” (archived copy of the Oct. 1, 2026 agenda packet), https://deflocktheusa.com/docket/michigan/lansing/on-the-agenda-lansing-committee-on-public-safety-license-plate-reader-oct-1/
Lansing State Journal, “Lansing considers cracking down on noisy modified vehicle exhausts,” Oct. 12, 2026, https://www.lansingstatejournal.com/story/news/local/2026/10/12/lansing-noise-ordinance-amendments-vehicle-exhausts-banging-gunshots/92171091007/
Photo: w_lemay, “Lansing City Hall, Michigan Avenue and Capitol Avenue, Lansing, MI.jpg,” Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0), cropped, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Lansing_City_Hall,_Michigan_Avenue_and_Capitol_Avenue,_Lansing,_MI.jpg

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