Pismo Beach, CA Noise Ordinances: Barking Dogs (2026)

Pismo Beach has no barking-specific ordinance in Chapter 6.04. Dog noise is reached through the animal raising section, 6.04.060. The definition in Section 6.04.040 says household pets are animals normally kept for companionship or amusement, and it names cats, dogs, canaries, parrots, fish, rodents, rabbits, turtles, lizards and snakes among them. Section 6.04.060 A.1 then says household pets are exempt from the chapter except that standards for cleanliness, restraint and noise, and other requirements in subsection A, apply to keeping them.

The operative noise standard is subsection A.5, titled noise and other nuisances: no animal shall be kept which is noisy, dangerous, or in some way prevents the full use and enjoyment of neighboring properties. The test is the effect on neighbors. The section prints no number of decibels, no hours and no count of minutes of barking, so enforcement turns on whether the animal prevents neighbors from fully using and enjoying their property.

A separate nuisance path exists for animals kept as a nonconforming use. Under Section 6.04.060 D.4, the city council can declare the keeping of such animals a public nuisance and abate it as provided in the municipal code, where the use is found to be dangerous or to prevent the full use and enjoyment of neighboring properties.

Section 6.02.020 adopts Title 9 (Animals) of the San Luis Obispo County Code by reference, but Section 6.04.020 reserves the local regulations in Chapter 6.04, and Section 6.06.020 says the locally reserved regulations control if they conflict with the county provisions. Related dog rules in the same chapter include the leash requirement in Section 6.04.080: a dog must be kept on a leash not exceeding six (6) feet in length, held by a person capable of controlling the dog, with listed exceptions such as an owner's enclosed private property.