San Diego County, CA Noise Ordinances: Aircraft Noise (2026)
Key Facts
- Governing section
- Zoning Ordinance § 5257
- Applies to
- Unincorporated county, mapped Overflight Notification Areas
- Trigger
- New residential building permit application
- Requirement
- Record Overflight Agreement before permit issuance
- Airports covered
- 14 ALUCP airports incl. Gillespie, Montgomery, Miramar
Summary
Unincorporated San Diego County requires owners of property inside an Airport Overflight Notification Area to record an Overflight Agreement before the county will issue a building permit for new homes, duplexes, multi-family units, or second dwelling units.
All owners of properties within an Airport Overflight Notification Area, as shown on an adopted ALUCP, shall record an Overflight Agreement prior to issuance of a building permit for any new residential development, including new single-family dwellings, duplexes, multi-family dwellings and second dwelling units. Note: not all properties within an Airport Influence Area (AIA) are within an Airport Overflight Notification Area. (Added by Ord. No. 10204 (N.S.) adopted 3-28-12) 5258 OVERRIDING AIRPORT COMPATIBILITY PLANS The County consistent with the PUC may overrule land use policies and criteria in the adopted ALUCPs that would otherwise be applicable to unincorporated territory over which the County retains land use authority by taking the following steps:
(i) holding a public hearing;
(ii) making specific findings that the proposed action is consistent with the requirements of the State Aeronautics Act, PUC Section 21670, et seq; and
(iii) approval of the proposed action by a two-thirds vote of the County Board of Supervisors. (See, for example, PCC Section 21676 and 21676.5.) (Added by Ord. No. 10162 (N.S.) adopted 8-3-11) 5260 DEVELOPMENT OF LAND DEVOTED TO INCOMPATIBLE USE Land devoted to an incompatible use prior to approval of an ALUCP may be used in accordance with this pre-existing use even if inconsistent with the ALUCP. To ascertain whether or not an incompatible use was established prior to
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: 2026 S-141: Administrative: Current through Ord. No. 11007 (N.S.), effective 7-10-26 | Regulatory: Current through Ord. No. 11008 (N.S.), effective 7-24-26).
Full Breakdown
County Zoning Ordinance § 5257, part of the Airport Land Use Compatibility Plan Area Regulations covering unincorporated land near Gillespie Field, Montgomery Field, McClellan-Palomar, MCAS Miramar, Brown Field and other county airports, ties the recorded Overflight Agreement to the building-permit process itself: Planning & Development Services will not issue a permit for a new single-family dwelling, duplex, multi-family building or second dwelling unit inside a mapped Airport Overflight Notification Area until the property owner has recorded the agreement. Not every parcel inside the broader Airport Influence Area carries this duty, only parcels the adopted ALUCP maps as being inside the narrower Notification Area.
Violations & Fines
No penalty section applies: the code enforces this by withholding the building permit itself: without a recorded Overflight Agreement, Planning & Development Services cannot issue the permit.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does this apply inside the City of San Diego?
Which properties count as inside the Notification Area?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in San Diego County
California rules heatmap·Compare San Diego County to another location·View the California noise ordinances overview
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