Noise Ordinances in Daly City, CA (2026)
10 verified noise ordinances for Daly City, California, sourced directly from the municipal code and official government pages.
Verified from official government sources
Quiet Hours
Daly City Municipal Code Section 9.22.030 sets quiet hours from 10:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m., during which no noise, music, or sound from a property may be heard beyond its confines or disturb anyone outside it. A general disturbing-the-peace ban (Section 9.22.010) applies around the clock.
Quiet hours 10 PM-6 AM; no noise beyond property line
Some RestrictionsDaly City Municipal Code Sections 9.22.010-9.22.030 (as described in Serramonte Shopping Center Expansion DEIR Section 4.10, March 2015)
The City of Daly City Municipal Code contains regulations to protect residents from noise disturbances. Section 9.22.010 prohibits an individual from causing a disturbance such that it disturbs the peace off-site. Section 9.22.020 states that no person shall maintain, operate, or conduct any loudspeaker or amplifier in such a manner as to cause the sound to be projected outside any building or ...
Construction Hours
Daly City's municipal code sets no construction-hour limits, maximum sound levels, or vibration standards, a gap the City's own environmental review confirms. The general nighttime rule in Section 9.22.030 still effectively bars construction noise audible off-site from 10:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m.
No set construction hours; nighttime noise ban applies
Few RestrictionsSerramonte Shopping Center Expansion Project DEIR, Section 4.10 Noise (March 2015), describing the Daly City Municipal Code
The Daly City Municipal Code does not contain regulations for the maximum sound level or hours of construction activities, nor does it contain vibration standards.
Barking Dogs
No Daly City ordinance specifically addresses barking dogs. Chronic barking is enforced under the general disturbing-the-peace chapter, including the 10:00 p.m.-6:00 a.m. ban on noise audible beyond the property, and complaints go to Daly City police rather than the animal-control contractor.
Barking dogs enforced as disturbing the peace
Some RestrictionsDaly City Municipal Code Section 9.22.030 (Noise)
Between the hours of ten p.m. and six a.m. of the following day, no person shall cause, create or permit any noise, music, sound or other disturbance upon his property which may be heard by, or which noise disturbs or harasses, any other person beyond the confines of the property, quarters or apartment from which the noise, music, sound or disturbance emanates.
Leaf Blower Rules
No Daly City-specific ordinance directly addresses leaf blowers; the municipal code's only noise controls are the general disturbing-the-peace rules of Chapter 9.22, so blowers cannot be run audibly off-property from 10:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m. State law now requires new small engines to be zero-emission.
No leaf blower ordinance; general noise rules apply
Few RestrictionsCalifornia Health and Safety Code Section 43018.11 (AB 1346, 2021)
By July 1, 2022, the state board shall, consistent with federal law, adopt cost-effective and technologically feasible regulations to prohibit engine exhaust and evaporative emissions from new small off-road engines ... Those regulations shall apply to engines produced on or after January 1, 2024, or as soon as the state board determines is feasible, whichever is later.
Amplified Music & Events
Municipal Code Section 9.22.020 requires a written permit from the chief of police before operating any loudspeaker or sound amplifier that projects sound outside a building or outdoors anywhere in Daly City, at any hour.
Police permit required for outdoor loudspeakers
Heavy RestrictionsDaly City Municipal Code Section 9.22.020 (as described in Serramonte Shopping Center Expansion DEIR Section 4.10, March 2015)
Section 9.22.020 states that no person shall maintain, operate, or conduct any loudspeaker or amplifier in such a manner as to cause the sound to be projected outside any building or out of doors in any part of the City without first obtaining a permit to do so.
Aircraft Noise
Aircraft departing San Francisco International Airport make the Serramonte neighborhood Daly City's main aircraft-noise area, with flyovers reaching 85-95 dBA. Municipal Code Section 15.00.130 requires homes built after 1993 within the FAA-approved 65 CNEL contour to be insulated to FAA program standards.
SFO overflights; insulation rule in 65 CNEL contour
Some RestrictionsDaly City Municipal Code Section 15.00.130; Daly City 2030 General Plan, Noise Element (Location A: Serramonte Area)
Another noise regulation, Section 15.00.130, states that any home constructed after 1993 and located within the 65 CNEL (FAA approved) contour of the Aircraft Noise Soundproofing Project Area Map must be insulated to meet standards applied in noise insulation programs supported by the Federal Aviation Administration. [...] The background noise in the area is 50 to 55 dBA, Leq which is relativel...
Industrial Noise
Daly City Municipal Code § 9.22.010 and § 9.22.030 regulate industrial noise under a qualitative public-nuisance standard rather than fixed decibel limits. Between 10:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m., no industrial operation may emit noise audible beyond the property line. During daytime hours, industrial noise that disturbs the public peace is prohibited under § 9.22.010 regardless of decibel level.
Industrial Noise (Qualitative Nuisance Standard)
Some RestrictionsDecibel Limits
Daly City does NOT set numeric decibel (dB or dB(A)) limits. The Municipal Code uses a qualitative standard: § 9.22.010 prohibits noise that disturbs the public peace, and § 9.22.030 prohibits any noise audible beyond the property line between 10:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m. Officers determine violations based on audibility and reasonableness, not sound-level meter readings.
Decibel Limits (No Numeric Standard - Qualitative Rule)
Some RestrictionsOutdoor Music
Daly City Municipal Code § 9.22.020 requires a written permit from the Chief of Police BEFORE operating any loudspeaker or sound amplifier that projects sound outside a building or outdoors anywhere in the city. The permit must state the permittee, authorized purpose, time/place, and termination date. Operating outdoor amplification without this permit is a prosecutable offense.
Outdoor Music & Amplified Sound (Permit Required)
Heavy RestrictionsVehicle Noise
No Daly City-specific ordinance directly addresses vehicle noise; California Vehicle Code defaults apply, requiring adequate mufflers on all registered vehicles and prohibiting car sound systems audible 50 or more feet away on a highway.
State Vehicle Code governs car noise and stereos
Few RestrictionsCalifornia Vehicle Code Sections 27007 and 27150(a)
No driver of a vehicle shall operate, or permit the operation of, any sound amplification system which can be heard outside the vehicle from 50 or more feet when the vehicle is being operated upon a highway, unless that system is being operated to request assistance or warn of a hazardous situation. [CVC 27007] ... Every motor vehicle equipped with an internal combustion engine and subject to r...
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