Arcadia, CA Noise Ordinances: Quiet Hours (2026)

Arcadia Municipal Code § 4620 is the closest thing the City has to a nighttime quiet-hours rule. It covers any noise level from the use or operation of a radio receiving set, musical instrument, phonograph, television set, or other machine or device for producing or reproducing sound between 10:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m. The trigger is a measurement: the sound must exceed the noise limit at the property line of any receiving property, or, for a condominium, within any condominium unit in the complex, by more than five decibels. Exceeding it is a violation of Chapter 6.

The hours come from § 4610.1, which defines "Night" as 10:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m. and "Day" as 7:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. The limits that § 4620 adds to are in § 4610.3(a): 50 dBA at night in a Residential Zone, 60 dBA in a Commercial Zone, and 70 dBA in an Industrial Zone. The surrounding sections show that quiet hours in Arcadia are a measured standard, not a flat ban on all sound after 10:00 p.m.

Section 4620.2 lists the exemptions: lawfully conducted parades; bells, chimes or carillons used with religious or patriotic services; systems used to warn the community of attack or imminent public danger; and all authorized school activities conducted upon school or public property. Section 4610.3(d) exempts noise from Emergency Work.

A second rule applies at every hour. Section 4630 makes it unlawful to willfully make or continue any loud, unnecessary and unusual noise that disturbs the peace or quiet of a neighborhood, or causes discomfort or annoyance to residents of the area. It lists the standards that can be weighed: the level of the noise, whether its nature is usual or unusual, the nature and density of inhabitation of the area, the time of day or night, the duration, and whether the source is commercial or noncommercial.

Gardening and landscaping equipment has fixed hours under § 4630.2. In residential zones, no one can operate mechanical gardening or landscaping equipment other than from seven a.m. to seven p.m. Monday through Saturday and from twelve p.m. to five p.m. on Sundays, and tree trimming equipment is prohibited on Sundays.