Hanford, CA Noise Ordinances: Decibel Limits (2026)

Unincorporated Kings County does not enforce numeric decibel (dBA) limits the way many cities do. The County's noise abatement ordinance, Section 15-211, is qualitative: it prohibits noise that is physically annoying to a person of ordinary sensitivity, or so harsh, prolonged, unnatural, or unusual in time or place as to interfere with the comfortable enjoyment of property or to constitute a nuisance. There is no table of allowable dBA levels by zone or time of day in the code. The only quantitative sound thresholds the county uses are land-use planning standards in the 2035 General Plan Noise Element, expressed in Community Noise Equivalent Level (CNEL). According to county planning materials, new residential development is prohibited where noise is 70 dB CNEL or more, and new residential development around the 60 dB CNEL contour must include noise insulation achieving a 45 dB CNEL interior level plus buyer disclosures and, near NAS Lemoore, avigation easements. These CNEL figures guide where and how new housing may be built; they are not a real-time decibel limit that the Sheriff measures at a party. For everyday noise complaints, the nuisance test in Section 15-211 - not a dB meter reading - is what applies.