Hawthorne's Noise Regulations (Ordinance No. 2138) set one-hour average sound limits measured at the receiving property. Residential and abutting property: 60 dBA daytime (7 a.m.-10 p.m.), 50 dBA at night. Commercial (C-2, C-3, Regional Commercial) and UOS zones not abutting residential: 65 dBA anytime. Short bursts get graduated allowances, e.g. +3 dB for up to 30 minutes hourly.
Hawthorne measures noise as a one-hour average (Leq) A-weighted sound level using a sound level meter, taken at any point on the affected (receiving) property beyond the premises where the noise is produced. The Table of Applicable Limits in Ordinance No. 2138 sets limits by the zoning of the receiving property: for property zoned residential (and property abutting residential), the limit is 50 dBA from 10:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m. and 60 dBA from 7:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. The same 50/60 dBA day-night split applies to UOS, C-2, C-3, and Regional Commercial property where it abuts residentially zoned property. Where C-2, C-3, Regional Commercial, or UOS property does NOT abut a residential zone, the limit is 65 dBA anytime. The limits are adjusted for duration: noise may exceed the limit by 3 dB if produced no more than 30 cumulative minutes per hour, by 6 dB for up to 15 minutes, 8 dB for 10 minutes, 11 dB for 5 minutes, and 15 dB for 2 minutes. For fluctuating noise such as music, the peak reading counts for the whole period. If the ambient level already exceeds the limit, the ambient level becomes the allowable limit; at a boundary between two zones, the limit is the arithmetic mean of the two. These are city limits applicable within incorporated Hawthorne.
Exceeding the table limits is unlawful and enforced under the Hawthorne Municipal Code penalties via Code Enforcement and police. Measurements are taken with a calibrated, A-weighted sound level meter per ANSI standards; the cost-recovery rule allows billing up to $1,500 per subsequent police response to a continuing disturbance.
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