Pismo Beach, CA Noise Ordinances: Decibel Limits (2026)

Section 9.24.060 of the Pismo Beach Municipal Code bars any person from causing or allowing any source of sound, or any noise on property the person owns, leases, occupies or controls, that exceeds the receiving zone's standard when measured on any other property, incorporated or unincorporated.

Table 1 lists levels not to be exceeded more than thirty minutes in any hour. R1 and R2, OSR and OS1 low density residential zones, and R3 and R4 and RR high density residential zones, carry 50 dBA from ten p.m. to seven a.m. and 55 dBA from seven a.m. to ten p.m. Commercial zones C-1, C-2, C-M and C-R carry 60 dBA overnight and 65 dBA in the daytime period.

The standard is a sliding scale. The table level applies for a cumulative period of more than thirty minutes in any hour. The standard plus five dB applies for more than fifteen minutes in any hour, plus ten dB for more than five minutes, plus fifteen dB for more than one minute, and plus twenty dB for any period of time. A cumulative period is an additive period made of time segments that can be continuous or interrupted.

Several adjustments follow. If the measured ambient level differs from the permissible level in the first four categories, the standard shifts in five dB increments. If the measurement location is on a boundary between two zones, the limit for the lower noise zone plus five dB applies. If the offending noise contains a steady, audible tone such as whine, screech or hum, is a repetitive noise such as hammering or riveting, or contains music or speech, the Table 1 limits are reduced by 5 dB. Ambient noise is measured with the offending source shut off where possible.

Section 9.24.090 D exempts five activities from these exterior limits: street sales, construction and demolition, domestic power tools and machinery, residential air-conditioning or air-handling equipment, and refuse collection vehicles. Each has its own rule elsewhere in section 9.24.050 or 9.24.080. Section 9.24.070 adds separate interior standards for multi-family dwellings, and section 9.24.110 A treats any noise above the Table 1 limits as prima facie evidence of a violation.