Porterville, CA Noise from Specific Sources: HVAC & Mechanical Noise (2026)

Porterville Municipal Code section 18-90.7 carves out a specific standard for residential air conditioning and refrigeration systems that overrides the general exterior noise table in section 18-90.4. Where the intruding noise source measured under section 18-90.4's methodology is an existing residential air conditioning or refrigeration system or its associated equipment, the exterior noise level at the affected property may not exceed 55 dBA. For residential air conditioning or refrigeration systems, or associated equipment, installed after the noise ordinance's effective date (Ordinance 1757, August 18, 2009), the ceiling drops to 50 dBA, tighter than the general daytime hourly Leq of 50 dBA and well under the general nighttime figures.

Section 18-90.2 separately defines a 'fixed noise source' to include residential air conditioners and refrigeration equipment among devices that create sound while stationary, which is what routes AC and refrigeration complaints into this noise article rather than the neglected-property or nuisance chapters. A commercial or industrial property's air conditioning or refrigeration equipment installed before the chapter's effective date got a temporary exemption from the general noise standards under section 18-90.6(H), but that exemption expired 12 months after the effective date, so all air conditioning and refrigeration noise, residential or commercial, is now measured against a numeric decibel ceiling rather than left unregulated.