Buena Park, CA Noise Ordinances: Barking Dogs (2026)

The City of Buena Park addresses problem barking through Chapter 6.20 of its Municipal Code, 'Care and Keeping of Dogs.' The chapter makes it unlawful for any person to keep, maintain, or permit on any premises within the city a barking dog under that person's control. A 'barking dog' is defined as a dog that barks, bays, cries, howls or makes any other noise continuously and incessantly for a period of ten minutes within a fifteen-minute period, to the disturbance of any other person. Issuance of a citation is within the discretion of an animal control officer or a police officer. A violation of the dog-keeping provisions is an infraction; a second or subsequent violation may, at the prosecuting attorney's discretion, be charged as a misdemeanor. Animal services in the city are handled in coordination with OC Animal Care, the county agency that processes barking-dog and animal-nuisance complaints for many Orange County jurisdictions. Note that a sustained barking dog could also exceed the general Chapter 8.28 noise standards at a neighbor's property line, but the targeted, time-based Chapter 6.20 definition is the city's primary tool for chronic barking. This is the city's own rule and applies inside Buena Park's limits, distinct from Orange County's unincorporated-area provisions.