10 rules for unincorporated Trinity County, California.
Verified from official government sources
Trinity County is entirely unincorporated and the County Code has no general residential quiet-hours ordinance with blanket nighttime decibel caps. Nighttime noise is addressed through the General Plan exterior standards the Code references (55 dBA day, 50 dBA night at the property line), the animal-noise rule in Section 6.04.050, and general nuisance abatement.
The Trinity County Code imposes no general countywide construction-hour limit for ordinary building projects. Hour limits appear only narrowly: home occupations run 7 a.m.-8 p.m. Mon-Sat and 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Sundays (Sec. 17.30B.050), and certain generators are barred 9 p.m.-7 a.m. weekdays (10 p.m.-7 a.m. for cannabis grows). Otherwise construction noise is controlled case-by-case via use permits and nuisance authority.
Trinity County has a real animal-noise rule. Section 6.04.050 makes it unlawful for any animal's owner to let it disturb the peace by loud and unreasonable howling, barking, or other noise. A written affirmation by two unrelated persons from separate residences is prima facie evidence of a violation, enforced by the Sheriff's animal regulation unit countywide.
The Trinity County Code contains no leaf-blower ordinance - a full-text search returns no results for 'leaf blower' or 'blower,' so there is no County restriction on blower use, hours, or noise. In this remote, forested rural county, blower noise is governed only by general nuisance authority (Chapter 8.64) and, indirectly, the General Plan exterior-noise standards the Code references.
Trinity County has no general amplified-sound ordinance capping stereos or PA systems by decibel. The clearest published control is the Outdoor Festivals permit (Chapter 5.20): applicants must disclose loudspeakers and sound intensity in decibels at the premises boundaries (Sec. 5.20.040), and a permit may be conditioned or denied to prevent unreasonable noise. Other disturbances are handled as nuisances (Chapter 8.64).
Trinity County has a real aircraft-noise ordinance targeting sonic booms. Chapter 8.16 (Ord. 329, 1970) declares supersonic flights causing loud, intense sonic booms a public nuisance, and Section 8.16.030 makes piloting aircraft at supersonic speeds causing such impacts unlawful. Violation is a misdemeanor: fine up to $1,000 and/or one year jail (Sec. 8.16.050). Routine aircraft are governed by the FAA.
Trinity County regulates industrial noise through zoning performance standards. Section 17.30.100(C) caps the lot-line sound-pressure level in each octave band at the Table I values (79 dB at 20-75 cps down to 39 dB at higher bands), measured with a sound-level meter and octave-band analyzer; Table II adds corrections, with tighter nighttime treatment. Cannabis faces added limits under Section 17.43.060.
Trinity County's published decibel standards come from its zoning performance standards and General Plan, not a stand-alone noise code. The exterior standard the Code references is 55 dBA day, 50 dBA night at the property line (Sec. 17.43.060). Section 17.30.100(C) sets industrial octave-band lot-line limits; home occupations are capped at 55 dBA during hours, 32 dBA after (Sec. 17.30B.060).
Outdoor music events in Trinity County are regulated through the Outdoor Festivals permit (Chapter 5.20). A promoter must obtain a permit and disclose loudspeakers and sound intensity in decibels at the premises boundaries (Sec. 5.20.040); the County may condition or deny it to prevent unreasonable noise. There is no blanket outdoor-sound decibel cap; smaller disturbances are nuisances under Chapter 8.64.
Trinity County has no county exhaust-noise ordinance; on-road vehicle noise is governed by the California Vehicle Code. CVC Section 27150 requires an adequate muffler and bans cutouts and bypasses, and Section 27151 bars modified exhausts that amplify noise (95 dBA limit under 6,000 lbs). The only County reference is the Ewing Lake rule (Sec. 8.44.030), requiring a Vehicle-Code-compliant muffler.
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