Chino Hills, CA Noise Ordinances: Industrial Noise (2026)

The City of Chino Hills' performance-standard chapter (Section 16.48.020) was designed to minimize environmental impacts including noise from land uses, and it applies to all land uses, permanent and temporary. For receiving property in the manufacturing/industrial/other category, Table 16.48-1 sets the maximum exterior Leq at 75 dBA from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. and 70 dBA from 10 p.m. to 7 a.m.; for commercial and institutional receiving property the limits are 70 / 60 dBA. 'Fixed noise source' is defined to include industrial and commercial machinery, pumps, fans, compressors, air conditioners, generators, and refrigeration equipment, and such equipment must conform to the noise standard (Section 8.08.020 even routes air-conditioning and pool equipment to the 16.48.020 limits). The graduated cumulative-period scale and the 5 dBA reduction for impulsive or tonal noise apply, which matters for industrial machinery that produces impact or impulsive sounds. Section 16.48.020(D) separately makes it unlawful to create ground vibration perceptible without instruments at any adjoining property, with a presumed perception threshold of 0.05 inch per second RMS vertical velocity, unless a temporary permit is issued. These are City of Chino Hills standards; the city is a largely residential master-planned community with limited heavy industry, so most enforcement involves commercial HVAC, loading, and equipment noise rather than heavy manufacturing.