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

Chapter 5.100 of the Palm Desert Municipal Code controls live entertainment at nightclubs and other businesses. Entertainment covers live music, live disc-jockey-hosted music, karaoke, concerts, dancing including dancing by patrons, billiards or pool, and similar acts for patrons. A business files an entertainment site plan with the planning department describing the nature and days of entertainment, how music is amplified, where and during which hours it is provided, adjacent development, and the occupancy limit set by the Fire Marshal. A business licensed after the ordinance took effect files before its business license issues, and an existing business files at its next annual license renewal.

The ten p.m. line sits in the site plan rule itself: no amplification of music or other portions of the performance can continue past ten p.m. without special permission from the city council. Entertainment outside the approved site plan needs a special event temporary entertainment permit, which the administrator decides within fifteen days under § 5.100.020.

Noise standards sit in Chapter 9.24, which defines commercial establishments to include any nightclub, restaurant or sports bar. Section 9.24.030 sets ten-minute average A-weighted limits for fixed noise sources such as fans, compressors and air conditioning: commercial zones 65 dBA from seven a.m. to ten p.m. and 55 dBA from ten p.m. to seven a.m., and residential zones 55 dBA and 45 dBA. Section 9.24.050 treats sound amplifiers plainly audible at fifty feet from the source point as prima facie evidence of a violation, and officers can cite and impound the amplifying components. Authorized outdoor gatherings, public dances, shows and entertainment events are exempt from Chapter 9.24 under § 9.24.060.

Under § 5.100.090 the administrator can suspend a site plan on reasonable cause and require remedial measures within ten days, including added security set by the chief of police, limits on alcohol sales, reduced hours, sound mitigation installation and reimbursement of city service costs.