Rialto, CA Noise from Specific Sources: Delivery Truck Noise (2026)
Key Facts
- Screening required
- 10-ft landscape strip + 8-ft wall
- Triggered by
- Loading areas next to residential uses
- Multi-building sites
- Service areas must be grouped
- Governing section
- RMC 18.61.160(F), (I)
- Reviewed at
- Site plan/building permit stage
Summary
Rialto's design guidelines require loading docks and truck maneuvering areas near residential uses to be screened by a ten-foot landscape strip and an eight-foot masonry wall under RMC 18.61.160(F). In multi-building complexes, Section 18.61.160(I) directs that service areas be grouped together specifically to minimize the visual and noise impact on surrounding uses.
F.When service areas such as loading, trash enclosures, outside storage, and ground-mounted equipment are located adjacent to residential uses or in parking areas, a minimum ten-foot wide landscape strip with a minimum eight-foot high masonry wall shall be required. The landscaping shall be maintained at all times in good condition and must not be trimmed to a height lower than the equipment they screen....I.In multi-building complexes, service areas shall be combined or located next to each other to minimize the visual and noise impact on the surrounding uses.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 39).
Full Breakdown
61's design guidelines apply citywide to new commercial and industrial development and address how loading and service areas interact with noise-sensitive uses. 160(D) requires loading facilities to be designed so vehicles are not required to back into docks from a public street, with adequate room provided for trucks maneuvering or waiting to unload, reducing idling and backing noise on public rights-of-way. Subsection F targets residential proximity directly: when loading areas, trash enclosures, outside storage, or ground-mounted equipment sit adjacent to residential uses or in parking areas, the developer must install a minimum ten-foot wide landscape strip paired with a minimum eight-foot high masonry wall, and that landscaping has to be kept tall enough to continue screening the equipment it was planted to hide.
Subsection I extends the same logic to larger sites: in multi-building complexes, service areas must be combined or located next to each other specifically to minimize the visual and noise impact on the surrounding uses, rather than scattered near multiple residential edges of a project. 50.
Violations & Fines
Failing to provide the ten-foot landscape strip and eight-foot masonry wall required by Section 18.61.160(F) where loading or service areas sit next to residential uses can block site plan approval before construction and expose a completed project to a design guideline violation afterward. Letting the required screening landscaping die back or be trimmed below the height of the equipment it screens is also noncompliant under subsection F's maintenance clause.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Rialto limit noise from delivery trucks at commercial loading docks?
What counts as a service area under this rule?
Is this enforced as part of the city's noise ordinance?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Rialto
California rules heatmap·Compare Rialto to another location·View the California noise from specific sources overview
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