Berkeley, CA Noise from Specific Sources: Bar & Nightclub Noise (2026)

Berkeley's noise chapter otherwise caps sound by zoning district under Table 13.40-1 in Section 13.40.050 (55-70 dBA depending on zone and daytime versus nighttime hours) and separately caps places of public entertainment at 95 dBA at any point a customer normally occupies, requiring a posted hearing-impairment warning sign above that level under 13.40.070(B)(12). Section 13.40.115 carves out a narrow variance specifically for entertainment establishments: they may exceed those otherwise-applicable limits by no more than 5 decibels above whichever is higher, the zone's numeric standard or the measured ambient noise level, and may run past the chapter's normal time restrictions, but only where the establishment's own conditional use permit affirmatively authorizes that deviation.

Absent that permit language, an entertainment venue is held to the same Table 13.40-1 limits and daytime/nighttime cutoffs as any other property in its zone, and complaints are investigated the same way as any other noise source: the Environmental Health Division dispatches a noise control officer with a sound level meter after two non-anonymous complaints in a commercial area, or one complaint elsewhere, under the 13.40.040 measurement procedure.