Chico has no local aircraft-noise ordinance. Aircraft in flight are exclusively regulated by the FAA under federal law (49 U.S.C. §40103), which preempts municipal noise rules. Chico Municipal Airport (CIC) operations are governed by FAA Part 150 framework. Chico's noise chapter (CMC Ch. 9.38) regulates ground-based human, machine, animal and device sources — it does not list aircraft as a regulated source.
Federal law occupies the field of aircraft-in-flight noise; cities cannot set in-air dBA limits. Chico Municipal Code §9.38.060 grants categorical exemptions for emergency response activities and warning devices, but the chapter as a whole is silent on aircraft because federal preemption removes the subject. The only local lever is the airport proprietor role at Chico Municipal Airport (CIC), where curfews or operational restrictions would require FAA Part 161 process. Complaints about low-flying aircraft go to the FAA Flight Standards District Office, not Chico Police. Drones (UAS) are also federally regulated under 14 CFR Part 107; ground-based drone noise that crosses a property plane could in theory trigger CMC §9.38.040 (commercial property) or §9.38.052 (general unreasonable noise) if operated commercially from a fixed site.
No Chico-issued violations for aircraft in flight. FAA Form 8740-5 is the federal complaint pathway. Ground noise from airport operations would fall under CMC §9.38.040's 70 dBA commercial/industrial property-plane limit.
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