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

Section 8.48.070(C) prohibits using, operating or permitting to be played any radio receiving set, musical instrument, phonograph, loudspeaker, sound amplifier or other machine or device outside of a vehicle in public that produces sound cast upon the public streets for any purpose, unless the use falls under Section 17.24.055's commercial amplified sound rules or is conducted under a Special Event Permit, Temporary Use Permit or other City-issued approval. This sits alongside a separate restriction on radios and similar devices played on private property or inside vehicles in public under Section 8.48.070(B), which bars sound that disturbs a person of normal sensitiveness, that is louder than needed for listeners in the same room or vehicle, or that crosses a residential or commercial property line between 10:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m.

An earlier general amplified-sound section, former Section 8.48.080, was relocated in 2021 to Title 17 as Section 17.24.055, Commercial Amplified Sound, which now sets the permit track for businesses that want to run amplified sound as part of normal operations rather than a one-time event. Any amplified-sound use is also independently subject to the general noise regulation in Section 8.48.040, which bars loud, unnecessary or unusual noise that disturbs the peace and quiet of a neighborhood, and to the numeric exterior and interior standards of Sections 8.48.050 and 8.48.060.