Richmond, CA Noise Ordinances: Decibel Limits (2026)

Richmond does not make a sound meter the only route to a noise citation. Section 9.52.100 says that, in addition to determining noise violations under the standard set forth elsewhere in the chapter, the enforcing officer may alternatively use the maximum decibel (dBA) levels to determine a violation.

The word alternatively carries the weight. The officer is not required to take a meter reading before citing, and is not barred from taking a reading either. The choice belongs to the enforcing officer, and it is made for the specific incident, so the approach used on a given night in Richmond does not bind the officer on a later call.

Once the choice is made, it controls the whole case. The section says the standard chosen shall be the sole means used to determine if a violation has occurred. If the officer applied the dBA levels, the question is whether the sound exceeded the maximum permitted level. If the officer applied the general standard, the question is whether that standard was violated, and the decibel levels are not the measure for that incident.

The section then declines to rank the tests: neither standard shall be considered superior, nor controlling, nor preempt the other. A person cited under the general standard therefore cannot defeat the citation by arguing that the decibel standard is the real rule, and a person cited on a dBA reading cannot argue that the general standard overrides it.

A dBA reading can be offered as a defense, but only when it was taken at the same time, location, and conditions as the incident, using a calibrated meter. A reading taken on another night or from another spot does not meet those conditions.