San Leandro, CA Noise Ordinances: Decibel Limits (2026)

m. These figures apply within the Music, Stereos and Electronics subsection of the Noise Ordinance, so they function as the objective backstop to the 'loud and raucous noise' and 50-foot-audibility standards set earlier in the same subsection. A separate relative standard in Section 4-1-1115(e)(1)(b) works alongside the fixed decibel table: any noise that exceeds the ambient background noise level already present on a neighboring occupied property, or within an adjoining unit of a condominium, apartment house, duplex or attached business, by more than five decibels is a violation in its own right, independent of whether the absolute 65 or 55 decibel ceiling has been crossed.

That means a quiet neighborhood with very low ambient noise can see a violation well under 65 decibels if the increase over baseline exceeds five decibels, while a louder commercial-adjacent block gets more headroom before the relative test is triggered. The ordinance does not specify a measurement distance or meter type for the fixed decibel table, leaving application to the investigating officer's judgment and the general enforcement standard in Section 4-1-1110. Violations of either the fixed limits or the relative ambient-plus-five standard are treated as a public nuisance and enforced under Section 4-1-1130 and Chapter 1-12.