Cathedral City, CA Noise Ordinances: Decibel Limits (2026)

Section 11.96.030(A)(6) of the Cathedral City Municipal Code makes it unlawful to produce, suffer or allow noise or sounds that exceed the dB(A) levels in its table. The table prints three categories, each with a daytime and a nighttime row. Residential exterior noise: 65 from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. and 50 from 10 p.m. to 7 a.m. Residential interior noise: 50 from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. and 40 from 10 p.m. to 7 a.m. Commercial and industrial exterior noise: 85 from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. and 55 from 10 p.m. to 7 a.m.

The measurement rules matter as much as the numbers. Exterior noise is measured at the lot line of the lot where the noise is emanating. If the measurement location sits on the boundary between two different noise zones, the lower standard applies. Interior noise is measured at least four feet from the wall, floor or ceiling nearest the noise source, with all windows, doors and other openings to the exterior closed. Noises caused by motor vehicles or trains are exempt from these standards, and where the ambient noise level exceeds the table levels, no one can produce noise in excess of the ambient level. Subsection (G) exempts noise from city operated or sponsored special events and permitted events on public property.

Separate time-of-day rules sit in § 11.96.050, which restricts activities such as powered model vehicles, domestic power tools, leaf blowers and privately operated sweepers to between eight a.m. and eight p.m. in residential zones and seven a.m. to eight p.m. in all other zones. Section 11.96.080 gives joint administration to the police and the code compliance division, and § 11.96.090 makes a responsible person liable for the actual cost of each response within seventy-two hours after a written warning.