Santee, CA Noise Ordinances: Barking Dogs (2026)

Santee handles barking dogs through two linked sections. Santee Municipal Code Section 5.04.040(B)(6), the "Animals and Fowl" clause of the Noise Abatement and Control chapter, makes it unlawful to keep or allow to be kept on any premises an animal or fowl that causes annoyance or discomfort to persons of normal sensitivity adjacent to the owner's property through frequent or continuous noise. The clause carves out occasional noise from legally operated dog and cat hospitals, humane societies, pounds, and farm or agricultural facilities. Section 6.10.270 then folds barking specifically into that standard: it is unlawful for a dog's owner or custodian to allow the dog to bark in violation of Chapter 5.04, and a violation is charged as an infraction rather than a misdemeanor.

Because the noise chapter sets the substantive test, Section 5.04.030 also matters: where any two noise provisions conflict, the more restrictive limit controls. Enforcement of Chapter 5.04 falls to the City's Noise Control Officer, who may be assisted by the Sheriff, per Section 5.04.180; barking-dog complaints specifically also route through San Diego County Animal Services as the City's authorized animal-control agency under Title 6. Unlike the decibel or time-of-day tests set for stereo equipment or construction gear elsewhere in Chapter 5.04, the animal-and-fowl standard is a nuisance test built around annoyance to a person of normal sensitivity rather than a fixed number, so an officer's determination turns on the specific facts of frequency, duration and proximity to a neighbor's home.