Santa Barbara County, CA Noise Ordinances: Aircraft Noise (2026)

Noise from aircraft over unincorporated Santa Barbara County is regulated by the Federal Aviation Administration, which has sole authority over the National Airspace System, flight paths and aircraft altitudes. Because of this federal preemption, the County cannot enact a binding ordinance that limits how loud aircraft may be in flight or restricts overflights. The county's principal commercial airport, Santa Barbara Airport (SBA), is owned and operated by the City of Santa Barbara, and even SBA's ability to impose mandatory noise-abatement or access restrictions is tightly limited by federal law; its noise-abatement measures are largely voluntary, and helicopters are specifically treated differently under federal aircraft-noise rules. What the County can do is manage land use on the ground. Under the FAA-approved 14 CFR Part 150 Noise Compatibility Program for the airport, Santa Barbara County was encouraged to adopt noise-overlay zoning recommendations contained in its General Plan to keep incompatible development away from high-noise areas. For complaints about specific flights, residents are directed to the airport's aircraft noise advisory program rather than to a county code-enforcement process. These limits reflect federal supremacy over aviation; the County's role is confined to compatible land-use planning in the unincorporated area.