Porterville, CA Noise Ordinances: Aircraft Noise (2026)

Porterville Municipal Code Section 500.05, Regulations for Noise Exposure, sits within Article 500, the Airport Environs (AE) Overlay District, established under Section 500.01 to protect land around the Porterville Municipal Airport from aircraft noise and accident hazards and to require noise-attenuated construction within the airport environs. Section 500.05(A) classifies every land use in the AE overlay as normally compatible, conditional, or incompatible based on Community Noise Equivalent Level (CNEL). All land uses are treated as compatible below CNEL 55 dB. For normally compatible indoor uses, if the activity itself is inherently noisy or ordinary construction will not sufficiently attenuate exterior noise, the building must include sound attenuation sufficient to hold interior noise to CNEL 50 dB for office, retail, and other noise-sensitive indoor spaces.

Conditional uses must meet the indoor CNEL level specified in Table 500.05B for the applicable zone, and outdoor noise-sensitive uses in that tier, including residential, hospitals, nursing and intermediate care facilities, schools, libraries, museums, and childcare facilities, require caution because they are likely to be disrupted by aircraft noise events. Incompatible uses above CNEL 65 dB face unacceptable interference indoors if windows are open, requiring extensive mitigation, while outdoor activity becomes unacceptable in that noise tier. Table 500.05B, referenced in Section 500.05(B), assigns each specific land use category to a compatibility rating across CNEL ranges from 55-60 dB up to 75-80 dB, tied to the noise impact zones mapped in Section 500.10.