10 rules for unincorporated Del Norte County, California.
Verified from official government sources
In unincorporated Del Norte County the strictest noise limits apply at night. The county's noise ordinance lowers both the exterior and interior residential noise standards between 10:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m., and the county's nuisance ordinance also addresses sounds that disturb the comfortable enjoyment of life or property.
Del Norte County's noise ordinance exempts construction, repair, remodeling, and grading noise from the residential noise limits, but only when the work is not done between 8:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m. on weekdays including Saturday, and not at any time on Sunday or a federal holiday.
Del Norte County does not publish a stand-alone decibel limit for barking dogs. Persistent barking is handled as a public nuisance under the county nuisance ordinance and through the Sheriff's Animal Services division, and would also count toward the residential noise standards in the county's noise ordinance.
Del Norte County has no leaf-blower-specific ban or decibel rule. Leaf blowers fall under the noise ordinance's exemption for real-property maintenance, which sets allowed hours, and excessive use could otherwise be measured against the residential noise standards or treated as a nuisance.
Amplified music in unincorporated Del Norte County is governed by the county's residential noise standards, which are reduced an extra 5 dB(A) when the noise is music or speech. Loud amplified sound can also be abated as a public nuisance under Chapter 7.08.
Aircraft noise is regulated by the federal government, not Del Norte County. The county cannot set flight curfews or aircraft noise limits; that authority rests with the FAA. The county's own noise ordinance exempts anything preempted by state or federal law.
Industrial and mechanical noise reaching residential property in unincorporated Del Norte County is judged against the same residential noise standards. The ordinance defines 'fixed noise source' to include industrial machinery, pumps, fans, compressors, generators, and air conditioners.
Del Norte County's noise ordinance sets numeric dB(A) limits for residential property in the unincorporated area: 55 dB(A) daytime and 50 dB(A) at night outdoors, with stricter interior limits and a tiered allowance for short, louder bursts measured with an A-weighted sound level meter.
Outdoor music in unincorporated Del Norte County is held to the county's residential noise standards, reduced 5 dB(A) because it is music. Events on public beaches, parks, and playgrounds, school grounds, and Independence Day celebrations are specifically exempt from those standards.
On public roads in Del Norte County, vehicle noise is governed mainly by California state law. State law requires an adequate muffler, bans modified or amplified exhaust, and prohibits vehicle sound systems audible 50 feet away. The county nuisance and noise rules can address vehicle noise on private property.
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