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

Section 8.80.200(O) of the Long Beach Municipal Code is the rule written for rooms where the sound system is the product. It makes it a violation to operate any loudspeaker or other source of sound in a place of public entertainment above the Table D level at any point normally occupied by a customer, unless a conspicuous and legible sign states "WARNING, SOUND LEVELS WITHIN MAY CAUSE PERMANENT HEARING IMPAIRMENT." The reading point is inside the room where patrons sit or stand, not at the property line. Chapter 8.80 does not define "place of public entertainment," so the phrase reaches any venue that runs amplified sound for an audience.

Table D ties the ceiling to how long the sound runs in a day. Eight continuous hours is capped at 85 dB(A), six hours at 86, four hours at 88, three hours at 89, two hours at 91, an hour and a half at 92, one hour at 94, half an hour at 97, and a quarter hour or less at 100 dB(A). Each step up in volume shortens the time allowed, so a DJ set held at 94 dB(A) has one hour before the reading must come down.

The sign is what keeps a loud room lawful under subsection O. A venue that exceeds Table D without the warning is in violation; a venue that posts it is not. Posting does nothing for the neighbor limits elsewhere in the chapter. Under § 8.80.150, sound reaching another property cannot exceed the Table A standard for a cumulative 30 minutes in any hour, that standard plus 5 dB for more than 15 minutes, plus 10 dB for more than 5 minutes, plus 15 dB for more than 1 minute, or plus 20 dB for any period. In District Two (mixed-use or predominantly commercial) the standard is 55 dBA from 10 p.m. to 7 a.m. and 60 dBA from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m.; in District One (predominantly residential) it is 45 dBA at night and 50 dBA by day. Section 8.80.160 cuts each limit by 5 decibels when the noise contains music or speech conveying informational content, which describes a club. Inside a neighboring dwelling, § 8.80.170 sets 35 dBA from 10 p.m. to 7 a.m. in residential districts (45 dBA mixed-use) for more than five minutes in any hour, also reduced by 5 dB for music under § 8.80.180. Separately, § 8.80.200(A) and (B) bar musical instruments and loudspeakers between 10 p.m. and 7 a.m. when they create a noise disturbance across a property line.