Woodland, CA Noise from Specific Sources: Generator Noise (2026)

Woodland's noise chapter treats most engine and motor noise as presumptively unlawful, but Woodland Municipal Code § 9.28.090(B)(14) carves out one specific source: emergency backup generators. The subsection provides that 'a backup generator used for the emergency operation of a City of Woodland water well or other City facility and the drilling of a City of Woodland water well shall not be considered loud, disturbing, or unnecessary noises.' The exemption is limited on its face to City-owned infrastructure, water wells and City facilities kept running during an emergency, and to the drilling work needed to bring a City well online; it does not extend to privately owned backup generators at homes or businesses.

Because the carve-out sits inside § 9.28.090(B), any generator noise falling outside it is measured against the rest of the section, most directly subsection (A)'s general bar on 'any noise which either annoys, disturbs, injures or endangers the comfort, repose, health, peace or safety of others' and the motor-noise and exhaust rules at (B)(1) and (B)(9). Woodland's public works and utilities crews rely on the (B)(14) exemption to keep water production and City facilities running during power outages or emergencies without triggering a noise complaint, while a resident's or business's own portable or standby generator remains subject to the section's general noise standard and, ultimately, to the code's general penalty at § 1.08.070, a misdemeanor punishable by up to six months in jail or a $1,000 fine.