Buena Park, CA Noise Ordinances: Aircraft Noise (2026)

The City of Buena Park does not regulate aircraft noise through its Municipal Code. The city's 2035 General Plan Noise Element is explicit that the Chapter 8.28 Noise Ordinance 'does not regulate noise from transportation sources, such as traffic, aircraft, and railways.' This reflects federal law: aircraft operations and aircraft-noise standards are the province of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), and courts have generally held that local regulation of aircraft-in-flight noise is preempted by federal authority because of the need for national uniformity and the pervasive federal regulation of aviation. Buena Park lies in the general vicinity of nearby general-aviation facilities such as Fullerton Municipal Airport (KFUL) and the Los Angeles/Long Beach airspace, but the city has no authority to set flight paths, curfews or in-flight noise limits. Residents disturbed by aircraft noise are directed to the FAA's noise-complaint channels and, for a specific facility, to the airport operator's noise-abatement program (for example, Fullerton Municipal Airport publishes voluntary noise-abatement procedures for pilots). Land-use planning is the city's main tool: through its General Plan and zoning, Buena Park manages compatibility of noise-sensitive uses with ambient noise, including airport-influence considerations, and requires interior-noise mitigation for new noise-sensitive development. But there is no city ordinance setting aircraft decibel limits or operating hours, and any such rule would likely be preempted.