Vacaville, CA Noise Ordinances: Decibel Limits (2026)

140(C), Project Approval and Operational Standards, and applies to every land use approved under the Zoning and Subdivision divisions. D sets two different metrics for nontransportation noise sources near residential and other sensitive uses: the hourly Leq, an hourly average sound level, and the maximum level, an instantaneous peak. ); the maximum instantaneous level cannot exceed 70 dBA by day or 65 dBA at night. Interior residential standards are stricter again, capped at 45 dBA daytime and 35 dBA nighttime hourly Leq. Compliance is measured at the property line of the affected use, and for single-family homes that exterior measuring point is typically the backyard.

The table applies the same escalated protection to hospitals and nursing homes, and transient lodging uses are measured only on the interior standard since outdoor recreation areas at motels and hotels have no fixed exterior limit. The code adds a penalty clause: any of the table's noise levels is lowered by five decibels for simple tone noises, or for noise that is primarily speech or music, or for recurring impulsive noise, meaning a source that would otherwise pass the table can still violate it once that tonal correction is applied.

The standards do not apply to certain ambient-exceeding new uses, to public parks and playgrounds where the decision maker finds impacts are reasonably limited, to nuisance abatement for ordinary residential noise like lawn mowers or barking dogs, or to caretaker units.