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

Section 12.28.100, in Chapter 12.28, Parks, requires a permit before anyone uses electric amplifying equipment or other sound amplifying equipment in any city park. Subsection A states the flat rule: no person shall use such equipment in a park unless a permit has been issued for it. Subsection B ties the sound permit to facility use: it cannot be issued on its own but must accompany a permit that also authorizes exclusive use of the park facility for the group obtaining it, and in no event may the equipment be used in a manner that creates a loud or raucous noise, regardless of the permit.

The section works alongside § 12.28.090, Disturbing the Peace, which separately bars disturbing a park's peace and quiet with unduly loud or unusual noise, automobile horns or sirens, tumultuous conduct, or playing a radio, tape deck or musical instrument in a loud or unusual manner, so amplified sound that crosses into disturbance territory can be charged under either section. Permits for park facility use, including the exclusive-use permit that must accompany a sound amplification permit, are issued through the community services department, the same office that issues the overnight camping permits in § 12.28.120 and the animal and vehicle exceptions elsewhere in the chapter. The Parks chapter, including this section, was adopted by Ordinance No. 859 § 1 in 1973 and has not been separately amended since.