Amplified music rules in Visalia, CA — also called sound permit, PA system, or live music ordinances — set decibel limits, time-of-day restrictions, and when permits are required.
Unincorporated Tulare County's Social Host Ordinance (Ordinance Code 5-01-1215(b)) prohibits sound from amplified sound devices from exceeding 65 decibels at the property boundary. 'Amplified sound device' is defined broadly in Section 5-01-1210(j) to include loudspeakers, PA systems, car audio, radios, and players.
Amplified music in the County's unincorporated communities is regulated by the Social Host Ordinance, Article 7 of Chapter 1, Part V of the Tulare County Ordinance Code (added by Ord. 3526, amended by Ord. 3591 and 3619). Section 5-01-1210(j) defines an 'Amplified Sound Device' as a device whose volume is increased by any electric, electronic, mechanical, or motor-powered means, 'including, but not limited to, loudspeakers, public address systems, car audio systems, radios, record players, tape players, disc players, MP3 players, iPods, phones, television sets.' Section 5-01-1215(b) then prohibits sound levels from amplified sound devices (and from 'excessive noise sources') from 'exceeding sixty-five (65) decibels, as measured at the boundary of the property on which the source of the noise or sound is located.' The ordinance's findings (Section 5-01-1205) note that gatherings have increased noise complaints from 'crowds and amplified sound devices' in traditionally quiet unincorporated areas. Conduct constituting amplified-noise violations is declared a public nuisance (Section 5-01-1225) and is exempt only where protected by the First/Fourteenth Amendments or California Constitution Article I, Section 4 (Section 5-01-1211).
A violation of Section 5-01-1215 is a misdemeanor under Ordinance Code Section 125 (Section 5-01-1235(a)). Civil administrative fines under Section 5-01-1235(b) are $1,000 for a first declaration of nuisance under 5-01-1215(b) and $3,000 for each subsequent declaration within three years against the same person or property. Each separate emergency response to the same noise complaint on the same date is a separate offense (Section 5-01-1230).
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