La Habra, CA Noise from Specific Sources: Generator Noise (2026)

Chapter 9.32, Noise Control, defines a "fixed noise source" in Section 9.32.020 as a stationary device that creates sound while fixed or motionless, and it expressly lists generators alongside pumps, fans, compressors, industrial machinery, air conditioners and refrigeration equipment. Any fixed noise source operating on residential property is therefore subject to the exterior and interior noise standards for Noise Zone 1 set out in Sections 9.32.050 and 9.32.060: fifty-five dB(A) between seven a.m. and ten p.m., dropping to fifty dB(A) exterior and forty-five dB(A) interior between ten p.m. and seven a.m., measured at the neighboring residential property.

Section 9.32.070 exempts several categories of noise from the chapter entirely, including, under subsection D, "any mechanical device, apparatus or equipment used, related to or connected with emergency machinery, vehicle or work." That exemption covers generators run to protect or restore safe conditions during a power outage or other emergency, or by a utility restoring service, per the Section 9.32.020 definition of "emergency machinery, vehicles or work." A generator run for routine testing, backup power convenience, or at a party or job site that is not an emergency remains bound by the numeric limits, and an owner or operator who cannot immediately comply may apply to the director of community and economic development for a temporary variance under Section 9.32.110, subject to the same fee as an administrative adjustment under Section 18.08.120(B) and a thirty-day decision deadline.