10 county-level rules, plus city-specific rules for 3 cities in Placer County, California.
Verified from official government sources
In unincorporated Placer County, Placer County Code Article 9.36 sets nighttime quiet hours from 10:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m. During nighttime, the on-site sound limit at a sensitive receptor's property line drops to 45 dB hourly Leq (70/65 dB Lmax day/night).
Placer County Code § 9.36.060
It is unlawful for any person at any location to create any sound... that: 1. Causes the exterior sound level when measured at the property line of any affected sensitive receptor to exceed the ambient sound level by five dBA; or 2. Exceeds the sound level standards as set forth in Table 1, whichever is the greater. Daytime (7 am to 10 pm) Hourly Leq 55 dB / Lmax 70 dB; Nighttime (10 pm to 7 am...
Placer County Code 9.36.030 exempts construction, alteration and repair activities from the noise standards only between 6:00 a.m. and 8:00 p.m. Monday-Friday, and 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, provided equipment has factory muffling and is well maintained.
Placer County Code § 9.36.030(A)(7)
Construction (e.g., construction, alteration or repair activities) between the hours of six a.m. and eight p.m. Monday through Friday, and between the hours of eight a.m. and eight p.m. Saturday and Sunday Provided, however, that all construction equipment shall be fitted with factory installed muffling devices and that all construction equipment shall be maintained in good working order.
Animal noise is excluded from the noise ordinance (9.36.030(A)(12)) and handled instead under Placer County Code Section 6.08.020, which makes it unlawful to keep a dog that barks or howls so continuously as to disturb the neighborhood. Barking 20 minutes aggregate in one hour can support enforcement.
Placer County Code § 9.36.030(A)(12) (cross-reference to § 6.08.020 governing excessive dog barking)
Animal noise (These noises are handled elsewhere in the code.)
Placer County does not ban leaf blowers. Property-maintenance equipment (blowers, mowers, edgers, power tools) is exempt from the noise standards only between 7:00 a.m. and 9:00 p.m. under 9.36.030(A)(2). New gas blowers face California's statewide SORE sale phase-out (AB 1346), effective for 2024 model-year engines.
Amplified music in unincorporated Placer County is regulated under Placer County Code Article 9.36. As 'simple tone' speech/music it must meet Table 1 limits reduced by 5 dB - effectively 50 dB Leq daytime and 40 dB Leq nighttime at a sensitive receptor's property line - unless an exception is granted.
Placer County Code § 9.36.060(B)
Each of the sound level standards specified in Table 1 shall be reduced by five dB for simple tone noises, consisting of speech and music. However, in no case shall the sound level standard be lower than the ambient sound level plus five dB.
Placer County's noise ordinance does not regulate aircraft in flight. Aircraft operations and noise are governed by the Federal Aviation Administration; federal law preempts local control of flight paths and aircraft noise (City of Burbank v. Lockheed). The county addresses airport-area noise mainly through land-use compatibility planning.
49 U.S.C. § 40103; Cal. Pub. Util. Code § 21669
The United States Government has exclusive sovereignty of airspace of the United States.
Industrial and commercial 'fixed sound sources' in unincorporated Placer County are subject to the Table 1 limits at any neighboring sensitive receptor (55/45 dB Leq day/night). Existing legal non-conforming or permitted operations are exempt (9.36.030(A)(10)) unless they expand activities or hours.
Placer County Code 9.36.060 Table 1 sets on-site sound limits at a sensitive receptor's property line: daytime (7 a.m.-10 p.m.) 55 dB hourly Leq / 70 dB Lmax; nighttime (10 p.m.-7 a.m.) 45 dB Leq / 65 dB Lmax. Exceeding ambient by 5 dBA is also a violation; music/speech limits drop 5 dB.
Outdoor music in unincorporated Placer County must meet the noise ordinance's reduced 'simple tone' limits (Table 1 minus 5 dB) at any neighboring sensitive receptor. Events that cannot comply may seek a special-event noise exception under Placer County Code 9.36.080(C).
Vehicles on public roads in unincorporated Placer County are governed by the California Vehicle Code, not the county noise ordinance: 9.36.030(A)(13) exempts road vehicles but NOT amplified sound, alarms or horn-honking. The state caps light-vehicle exhaust at 95 dBA (CVC 27150/27151).
3 cities in Placer County have their own noise ordinances rules. Each link goes to that city's dedicated page with code citations.
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