Outdoor music at parties and gatherings in unincorporated Tulare County is governed by the Social Host Ordinance (Ordinance Code 5-01-1215(b)), which caps amplified and non-amplified party noise at 65 dB at the property boundary. Non-amplified sounds like shouting, group chanting, and acoustic instruments are also covered.
Outdoor music and gatherings are the core target of the Tulare County Social Host Ordinance (Article 7, Chapter 1, Part V). The ordinance's findings (Section 5-01-1205(j)) note that social gatherings 'led to an increase in noise complaints arising from crowds and amplified sound devices within rural, residential, and other traditionally quiet unincorporated areas of the County, during traditionally quiet times.' Section 5-01-1210(f) defines a 'party' broadly as any gathering of two or more individuals on private property (other than members of the same household or immediate family), and Section 5-01-1210(k) brings 'non-amplified sounds arising from parties, such as shouting, group chanting, acoustic musical instruments' within the definition of 'excessive noise sources.' Section 5-01-1215(b) then prohibits both amplified sound devices and excessive noise sources from exceeding 65 decibels at the property boundary. Conduct in violation is declared a public nuisance (Section 5-01-1225), with exemptions only for activity protected by the First/Fourteenth Amendments or California Constitution Article I, Section 4 (Section 5-01-1211).
Outdoor music exceeding 65 dB at the boundary is a misdemeanor (Section 5-01-1235(a)) and a public nuisance. Administrative fines are $1,000 for a first nuisance declaration and $3,000 for each subsequent declaration within three years (Section 5-01-1235(b)). Critically, if law enforcement must respond multiple times to the same party or noise complaint on the same day, each response is a separate offense (Section 5-01-1230). Where the gathering violates an event-permit requirement, fines may follow Government Code Section 25132(d).
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