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

Section 17.430.210 of the San Jacinto Municipal Code regulates amplified and unamplified live entertainment in the City of San Jacinto, Riverside County, California, wherever Article 2 of the Development Code allows it. A bar or nightclub that books a band or performer is the use this section is built around. Dance halls are handled separately in Chapter 5.40 (Public Dances).

A few activities are exempt. Pre-recorded music played inside an establishment during lawful operating hours is exempt only if the volume levels conform to Section 17.300.060 (Noise). Unamplified live entertainment is exempt if it has no more than two performers, including patrons, playing unamplified instruments, with no dancing, singing or spoken words, at sound levels that allow persons to converse without straining, indoors between 9:00 a.m. and 11:00 p.m., and with a valid license fee paid under Chapter 5.08 (Business License Fees). Anything outside those exemptions needs payment of a license fee under Chapter 5.08.

The development standards are the core of the noise rule. Amplified live entertainment shall take place inside a structure and shall not occur outdoors, including in an outdoor dining area. The premises must contain sufficient sound absorbing insulation so that noise generated inside is not audible anywhere on adjacent property, public rights-of-way, or within any separate units in the same structure if the premises are in a mixed-use development. No doors or windows can be open during the amplified entertainment. Exits are to be directed away from an adjoining residential zone or use, except exits for emergency use only.

Permit conditions add the numbers. A permit under Chapter 17.605 (Conditional Use Permits and Minor Use Permits) must carry conditions covering days and hours of operation, maximum noise levels, waste management, transferability, the temporary versus permanent nature of the use, and security personnel as recommended by the Police Chief. A separate rule for outdoor dining in Section 17.430.230 bars amplified sound from being audible beyond the lot line.