Alhambra, CA Noise Ordinances: Amplified Music & Outdoor Sound (2026)

090 regulates public address speaker systems as a special category within the Noise and Vibration Control title. Subsection (A) permits the systems only on property zoned Commercial Mixed-Use (CMU), central business district (CBD) or industrial (I), and holds them to fixed technical limits: speakers may produce no more than ten watts with a maximum of 95 decibels measured four feet away, all cables and amplifiers must carry a UL label, and amplifiers must include an internal limiting device to cap volume. Subsection (B) requires a permit from the Community Development Department before anyone installs or operates a system, renewable annually subject to the department's review.

If a permitted business is found in violation of the chapter more than once during a permit period, the permit is revoked outright, and a revoked operator cannot reapply for one year from the date of revocation. Systems that were lawfully operating before these special provisions took effect but are neither specifically permitted nor exempted are treated as nonconforming and must be removed within two years of the enacting ordinance's effective date, or immediately upon any change, modification, alteration or expansion of the building or use where they sit.