Yakima, WA Noise Ordinances: Outdoor Music (2026)

Yakima's downtown along Yakima Avenue and the surrounding historic core - anchored by the Capitol Theatre (1920), the Larson Building, the Yakima Convention Center, and the Millennium Plaza public space - hosts a robust outdoor-event calendar including Downtown Summer Nights, Hot Shots Concert Series, Fresh Hop Ale Festival, Yakima Folklife Festival, and seasonal farmers market events. Outside the downtown, State Fair Park (Yakima Valley SunDome plus the outdoor Grandstand) hosts the Central Washington State Fair (10-day September run with nightly Grandstand concerts), the Northwest Junior Livestock Show, and year-round concerts. The applicable code framework: (1) YMC Chapter 9.70 (Special Events - Parades) requires a city-issued Special Event Permit for events that close streets, occupy public property, or impact city services; (2) The City of Yakima Special Event and Parade Permit Guidelines impose specific noise conditions on permits: 'no event shall exceed a maximum decibel limit of 95dB measured at the property line over a sustained period of ten minutes' and 'outdoor music and entertainment shall be limited to performing between the hours of 10:00 a.m. and 10:00 p.m.,' with exceptions if recommended by the Planning Division and approved by the City Manager; (3) YMC Chapter 6.04 public disturbance noise applies as a misdemeanor backstop to any amplified sound that unreasonably disturbs neighbors; (4) WAC 173-60-040 receiving-property caps apply where YMC is silent. The Central Washington State Fair operates under a long-standing State Fair Park master facility arrangement with the city/county/fair-park district that addresses noise as part of the broader event-permit process. Sunday or late-evening outdoor amplified events on private property (back-yard parties, restaurant patios, brewery taprooms such as Single Hill Brewing, Bale Breaker, and the downtown Yakima Avenue craft-beer corridor) remain subject to the YMC 6.04 reasonableness standard and the WAC 173-60-040 Class A nighttime 45 dBA receiving-property cap.