Merced, CA Noise Ordinances: Decibel Limits (2026)

The City of Merced does not have a community-wide noise ordinance with a residential decibel table. The only numeric dBA limits in the Municipal Code are in the Zoning Code's industrial performance standards. MMC 20.12.030(C)(1) provides: 'No operation or activity shall transmit any noise exceeding 70 dBA between 7:00 a.m. and 9:00 p.m. and 60 dBA between 9:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m. beyond the property line. Any uses abutting residential zoning shall not transmit any noise between 10:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m. beyond the property line.' If a proposed industrial use would exceed those levels, the applicant must submit a noise-mitigation plan to obtain building permits, and the review authority may grant narrow exceptions for infrequent noise or where best-available control technology still cannot meet the standard (MMC 20.12.030(C)(1)(b)). The same section also sets vibration and odor performance limits at the property line. For residential and mixed land uses, Merced applies the dBA/CNEL targets in its General Plan Noise Element (a policy document, not a code-enforceable section) plus nuisance and disruptive-party provisions. Note these are CITY standards; Merced County's separate ordinance (with its own dBA limits) applies only to unincorporated areas outside the city.