Mountain View, CA Noise Ordinances: Aircraft Noise (2026)

Sec. 36.06.28 targets development proposed within the noise contours mapped by the Moffett Federal Airfield Comprehensive Land Use Plan (CLUP). Any project that would permit or result in a land use considered conditionally compatible with aircraft noise measured at a Community Noise Equivalent Level (CNEL) of 65 decibels or greater must, before the city will issue a building permit for any proposed buildings or structures, grant an avigation easement to the United States Government and to the County of Santa Clara. The easement has to be consistent with the CLUP itself, tying every qualifying Mountain View approval to the federal government's own airfield land use planning rather than a separate city standard.

The section was added by Ordinance No. 2.2026 on January 27, 2026, reflecting that Moffett Federal Airfield, though federal land outside city jurisdiction, still generates noise contours that reach into Mountain View neighborhoods near the bay. An avigation easement is a recorded property interest that waives the owner's right to sue over aircraft noise, vibration, fumes and overflight tied to operations at the airfield; recording one is a standard federal and local coordination tool used near many airports. Mountain View's version applies it specifically to the CNEL 65 dB threshold the CLUP sets, rather than creating a separate, freestanding city noise standard for the area.