Mono County, CA Noise Ordinances: Industrial Noise (2026)

Industrial activity in the unincorporated communities is governed by the maximum exterior noise levels in Table 10.16.060(A) of the Mono County Code. Light-industrial uses, and industrial uses, utilities, mining, ranching and agriculture, are limited to 65 dBA at all times, the same all-hours cap applied to commercial uses. Section 10.16.060(B) also treats any sound exceeding the background level by at least 10 dBA during the day or 5 dBA at night as a noise disturbance at the receiving property line, and pure tones lower the limits by 5 dBA. Section 10.16.070(B)(12) (Motors/Machinery) requires that any motor, machinery, pump (such as swimming-pool equipment) or generator be sufficiently enclosed or muffled and maintained so as not to create a noise disturbance. For mobile or stationary internal-combustion equipment, the code requires suitable exhaust and air-intake silencers in proper working order. Vibration is regulated too: Section 10.16.070(B)(7) prohibits operating a device that creates vibration above the vibration perception threshold at the property boundary on private property, or 150 feet from the source on public space. These standards apply throughout the unincorporated Eastern Sierra, including mining and ranching operations, and not in the Town of Mammoth Lakes.