Chino Hills, CA Noise Ordinances: Aircraft Noise (2026)

The City of Chino Hills does not regulate aircraft or overflight noise, and it cannot under federal law. The city's noise standard, Section 16.48.020(B), specifically exempts 'any activity to the extent regulation thereof has been preempted by state or federal law,' which includes aircraft operations. Under longstanding federal preemption, the Federal Aviation Administration controls aircraft noise, flight paths, altitudes, and operations; states and municipalities generally cannot independently regulate aircraft operations or impose their own aircraft-noise standards. Chino Hills sits beneath regional air traffic and is near general-aviation activity (Chino Airport lies just to the north in the City of Chino), but the city has no authority over individual aircraft noise. Residents with aircraft-noise concerns should direct complaints to the FAA or the operator of the relevant airport rather than to the city, since the city's code cannot lawfully limit overflight noise. Ground-based noise at an airport facility (such as fixed equipment) could fall under general noise standards, but the flight operations themselves are federal. This is consistent with how California cities generally handle aircraft noise; it is not a gap in the Chino Hills code but a limit on local authority.