Outdoor music in unincorporated Plumas County is regulated through the General Plan / Section 9-2.413 land-use noise standards, with no separate outdoor-event noise ordinance. County-permitted events and festivals - such as the High Sierra Music Festival at the Quincy fairgrounds - are exempt from the General Plan noise standards under Policy N-3.1.8 but are managed through their event permits.
There is no dedicated outdoor-concert or special-event noise chapter in the Plumas County Code. Outdoor and festival music is regulated through the County's general noise framework - the 2035 General Plan Noise Element standards and zoning Section 9-2.413 (maximum allowable noise exposure within the Planning Land Use Category). The Noise Element's Policy N-3.1.8 (Noise Source Exemptions) specifically exempts 'activities associated with County-permitted events and festivals' from the noise standards, alongside emergency warning devices and daytime school/park/playground activities. Plumas County's noise inventory recognizes recreation- and entertainment-related noise as a real local source: the Quincy fairgrounds host the High Sierra Music Festival and races, with smaller music festivals in communities such as Belden, most of them seasonal summer events. Because these are permit-based, the County manages their sound through event permits and conditions rather than fixed decibel citations. Non-permitted outdoor music that exceeds the land-use noise standards is treated as a nuisance, and the County's Code Enforcement page directs such complaints to the Plumas County Sheriff non-emergency line.
Non-exempt outdoor music exceeding the General Plan / Section 9-2.413 standards is a nuisance addressed through Code Enforcement; permitted events and festivals are exempt under Policy N-3.1.8 but can be conditioned (and conditions enforced) through their permits. Routine disturbances are referred to the Sheriff (530-283-6300), with Penal Code Section 415 as a backstop.
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