Pacifica, CA Noise from Specific Sources: Generator Noise (2026)
Key Facts
- Governing section
- Pacifica Municipal Code § 5-10.03(n)
- Rule
- Unmuffled blower, fan or engine noise is unlawful
- Requires
- Muffler device to deaden engine noise
- Default penalty
- Misdemeanor, up to $1,000 fine or 6 months jail
- Enforcement basis
- Section 1-2.01 general Code violation penalty
- Related section
- Section 5-10.02 general noise prohibition
Summary
In the City of Pacifica, running a noise-creating generator, power fan, or internal combustion engine without a muffler violates the City's noise ordinance. Pacifica Municipal Code Section 5-10.03(n) bars any blower, fan, or engine whose operation causes noise from exploding gases or fluids unless it carries a working muffler device. The rule sits inside the City's broader ban on loud or disturbing noise.
It shall be unlawful for any person to make or continue, or cause to be made or continued, any loud, disturbing, unnecessary, or unusual noise or any noise which annoys, disturbs, injures, or endangers the comfort, health, repose, peace, or safety of other persons within the City. ... The following noises, among others, are hereby declared to be loud, disturbing, unnecessary, and unusual noises in violation of the provisions of this chapter ... (n)Blowers, fams, and combustion engines. The operation of any noise-creating blower, power fan, or internal combustion engine, the operation of which causes noise due to the explosion of operating gases or fluids, unless the noise from such blower or fan is muffled and such engine is equipped with a muffler device to deaden such noise;
Full Breakdown
03 lists specific noises that violate this ban, stating the list is illustrative and not exclusive. Subsection (n) covers blowers, fans, and combustion engines directly: operating one that causes noise from exploding gases or fluids is unlawful unless the noise is muffled and the engine carries a muffler device. This subsection is not tied to a decibel meter reading; the presence or absence of a muffler is what determines a violation, and it applies to leaf blowers, portable generators, and any similar power equipment. under subsection (p), showing the chapter otherwise leans on fixed hours where it wants them. Chapter 10 carries no penalty section of its own, so enforcement falls back on the Code's general violation provision.
Violations & Fines
A blower, fan, or combustion engine running without a muffler device violates Pacifica Municipal Code Section 5-10.03(n) and the broader Section 5-10.02 ban on noise that disturbs a neighbor's peace or repose. Because Chapter 10 has no separate penalty section, violations default to Section 1-2.01: a misdemeanor punishable by up to a $1,000 fine, six months in County Jail, or both, though the City Attorney may charge it as an infraction instead.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is running a portable generator in Pacifica against the law?
Does the ordinance set a decibel limit for generators?
What happens if my generator noise gets reported?
Can I run a generator at night in Pacifica?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Pacifica
California rules heatmap·Compare Pacifica to another location·View the California noise from specific sources overview
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