Fountain Valley, CA Environmental Rules: Vehicle Idling Restrictions (2026)

Fountain Valley Municipal Code § 6.28.147 sits in Chapter 6.28, the noise chapter adopted by the Fountain Valley City Council. It covers any motor vehicle, including refrigeration trailers, with the engine idling or an auxiliary motor running. Three things must all be true before the section applies. The vehicle has been left standing for more than ten minutes. The time is between ten p.m. and seven a.m. And the engine or motor noise disturbs the peace or quiet of a residential neighborhood or causes discomfort or annoyance to a reasonable person of normal sensitivity living in the area.

Daytime idling, and an idle of ten minutes or less, fall outside this section. The section sets no decibel reading, so a complaint turns on disturbance to neighbors rather than on a meter. Liability is stacked: the driver, the owner, the registered owner and the legal owner of the vehicle or trailer are each guilty of the offense. A separate rule, § 6.28.148, treats idling within one hundred feet of residentially zoned property as part of a delivery between ten p.m. and seven a.m. Under § 6.28.110 the county health officer and authorized representatives are directed to enforce Chapter 6.28, and they can arrest without a warrant under Penal Code Section 836.5 when they have reasonable cause to believe a misdemeanor was committed in their presence.

An operator who cannot comply right away can apply to the health officer for a variance under § 6.28.120 with a seventy-five dollar fee. The county noise variance board decides the application, and an appeal to the City Council must be filed within fifteen days under § 6.28.140.