Wheat Ridge is working to muffle automotive noise.

The City Council unanimously approved a new ordinance on Feb. 9 that amends the city’s code regarding mufflers, ultimately allowing for the police department to enforce rules surrounding vehicular exhaust noise.

The city code — as it stood before the amendment — did not directly address noise produced by vehicles, but just loud noises as a whole.

Now, Wheat Ridge police will be able to enforce violations for cars with mufflers that do not meet the city’s definition of “compliant.”

A compliant muffler is defined as an original factory unit or a replacement that matches the original specifications. A car with no muffler or a muffler deemed substandard (or too loud) would be out of compliance.

Police now have the ability to use their own judgment to stop a vehicle creating exhaust sounds louder than normal traffic, according to City Attorney Gerald Dahl.

The violations are connected to the driver, not the vehicle, and a first violation will result in a $200 fine and required court appearance. A second violation would result in a $300 fine and a third violation subsequent within a year would result in a $600 fine.

Councilmembers raised the issue of classic cars, with older cars often having louder exhaust noise.

“When I moved to Wheat Ridge, I was pleasantly surprised by the driving classic car culture that we had,” Councilmember Jenny Snell said.

Dahl said that if the muffler is compliant to the original muffler manufactured for the vehicle, it would not be a problem. Therefore, the violation isn’t on decibel levels alone.

Motorcycles fall into the same standard. If it came loud from the factory, it can still be loud.

Councilmember Kathleen Martell questioned what would occur if someone got into a crash or broke a muffler and did not immediately have the money for a repair.

“Are we creating a cycle where they’re not trying to make their car louder, they’re just in a bad cycle and we’re making it worse with a $200 fine?” she asked.

Dahl responded that officer discretion is important.

“People explain their behavior to officers on the street all of the time,” Dahl said, adding that it’s up to the officers if they believe the driver. If not, the story can then be told to a judge.

The council agreed that rewording and reconfiguring may need to be done after seeing implementation, but all approved of the idea.

“Excessive noise is an affront to the peace and quiet we expect to enjoy in our homes and in our public spaces,” said Councilmember Dan Larson, who spearheaded the ordinance.