Daly City does NOT set numeric decibel (dB or dB(A)) limits. The Municipal Code uses a qualitative standard: § 9.22.010 prohibits noise that disturbs the public peace, and § 9.22.030 prohibits any noise audible beyond the property line between 10:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m. Officers determine violations based on audibility and reasonableness, not sound-level meter readings.
Many California cities (San Francisco, Berkeley, Palo Alto) publish dB(A) tables setting maximum exterior sound levels by zoning district. Daly City has not adopted such a table. Chapter 9.22 of the Daly City Municipal Code is the controlling noise regulation, and it relies entirely on qualitative language: 'noise, disorder or tumult to the disturbance of the public peace' (§ 9.22.010) and noise that 'may be heard by, or which noise disturbs or harasses, any other person beyond the confines of the property' between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m. (§ 9.22.030). Police officers exercise discretion based on the audibility test, complaint history, time of day, and the reasonable-person standard. The Daly City 2030 General Plan Noise Element references California Department of Health Services CNEL/Ldn community noise compatibility guidelines (Office of Noise Control, Guidelines for the Preparation and Content of the Noise Element of the General Plan, 1976/1987) for planning purposes, but those guidelines are not directly enforceable against individual noise sources.
Violations of § 9.22.010 and § 9.22.030 are typically infractions under Daly City Code Title 1 general penalty provisions. Loud party hosts may also be cited under Chapter 9.23 (Loud or Unruly Gatherings) with civil fines starting at $1,500 (§ 9.23.030).
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