Placer County's noise ordinance does not regulate aircraft in flight. Aircraft operations and noise are governed by the Federal Aviation Administration; federal law preempts local control of flight paths and aircraft noise (City of Burbank v. Lockheed). The county addresses airport-area noise mainly through land-use compatibility planning.
Aircraft noise in unincorporated Placer County is not controlled by the county noise ordinance. Placer County Code Article 9.36 sets sound limits for fixed and ground-based sources; it does not, and legally cannot, set noise limits on aircraft operating in navigable airspace. Under the federal Noise Control Act of 1972 and the Federal Aviation Act, the FAA has exclusive authority over aircraft noise, flight paths and altitudes, and the U.S. Supreme Court confirmed in City of Burbank v. Lockheed Air Terminal that federal law preempts local attempts to regulate aircraft noise. A local government may regulate an airport it owns (as proprietor) and may use land-use planning - through an Airport Land Use Compatibility Plan and the county General Plan/zoning - to limit incompatible development near airports such as Auburn Municipal, Lincoln Regional, Blue Canyon and the Truckee-Tahoe area. Residents disturbed by aircraft noise are generally directed to the operating airport's noise-complaint program or the FAA, not to county code enforcement.
There is no county citation for aircraft-in-flight noise; jurisdiction lies with the FAA. Complaints are typically routed to the relevant airport's noise office or the FAA. Land-use measures (noise-compatibility zoning, avigation easements) are the county's primary tools for managing airport-area noise impacts.
Other ordinances people look up for this city. Green dot = verified primary-source excerpt.
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Side-by-side rule comparisons with other cities in Placer County.
See how other cities in Placer County handle aircraft noise.
See how Roseville's aircraft noise rules stack up against other locations.
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