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

Section 10-153(a) makes it unlawful to cause, allow, or permit the emission of loud or raucous noise from any sound-making or sound-amplifying device on private property, on a public street, alley, sidewalk, or thoroughfare, or in a public park or public place. Subsection (b) defines 'loud and raucous noise' objectively: amplified sound that can be heard 50 feet from the location of the amplifying device. The section reaches property owners, event organizers, the person operating the device, and, where the responsible person is a minor living with a parent or guardian, that parent or guardian, per subsection (c).

Enforcement is administrative: subsection (f) lets any officer issue a citation under this chapter and SAMC 1-21, and subsection (g) sets an escalating fine schedule tied to police responses at the same location within a calendar year: no fine for the first response, $100 for the second, $250 for the third, $500 for the fourth, $750 for the fifth, and $1,000 for the sixth or any later response. 8. Subsection (h) authorizes the City to pursue any legal or equitable remedy to collect unpaid fines, and subsection (i) makes every remedy under the chapter cumulative with criminal penalties and state law.

The ordinance dates to Ordinance No. NS-2184 in 1993 and was updated by Ordinance No. NS-2964 in April 2019 to add the administrative citation and fine structure.