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

1522(a)(2)(g). First, the equipment cannot be part of new construction and must sit no closer than 10 feet from the rear property line. Second, and most specific to noise, the equipment within the setback cannot emit sound at a level greater than 55 decibels, nor can it carry a manufacturer rating exceeding 55 decibels, with the measurement taken immediately adjacent to where the unit sits rather than at a receiving property line or any distance away. Third, the equipment must be screened from public view.

The same section separately allows mechanical equipment and housing, including its screening, to project up to four feet above a zone's height limit, which matters for rooftop-mounted HVAC condensers in the city's denser R-3 and commercial zones. 2500; it does not by itself set a citywide ambient noise limit for every HVAC installation, only for units using this setback-encroachment allowance. Pool and spa mechanical equipment gets its own separate encroachment rule in the same section without a stated decibel cap, so the 55-decibel standard is targeted at general mechanical and plumbing equipment such as HVAC condensers and ventilation fans.