Bakersfield, CA Noise Ordinances: Quiet Hours (2026)

Bakersfield's primary quiet-hours mechanism is the general nuisance-style prohibition in BMC 9.22.030, which makes it unlawful for any person to willfully make or continue, or allow to be made or continued, any loud, unnecessary noise that disturbs the peace or quiet of any neighborhood or causes discomfort or annoyance to persons residing within one thousand feet of the noise source. Unlike many California cities, Bakersfield does not impose a single citywide curfew with a fixed decibel ceiling for residential property in BMC 9.22.030; instead the chapter relies on the disturbance-and-annoyance test together with category-specific time windows scattered through Chapter 9.22. The clearest defined nighttime period appears in BMC 9.22.120 governing refrigerator truck use in commercial or manufacturing zones, where operation is permitted at all hours only if it does not emit noise or vibration detrimentally impacting neighboring residential properties between 10 p.m. and 7 a.m. Construction is regulated separately under BMC 9.22.050: grading and excavation work is generally permitted between 6 a.m. and 9 p.m. on weekdays and 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. on weekends, outside which loud construction noise can be cited. California Penal Code Section 415 layers state-level disturbing-the-peace authority on top of the city ordinance — police often charge under PC 415(2) for loud and unreasonable noise. Penalties are governed by BMC 1.40.010: infractions carry $50/$100/$250 graduated fines for first, second-within-a-year, and additional-within-a-year violations; misdemeanors are punishable by up to a $1,000 fine, up to six months in county jail, or both. Administrative citations under BMC 1.40 are also available and are commonly used for chronic nuisance noise. Complaints during nighttime hours are routed to the Bakersfield Police Department non-emergency line; daytime and chronic patterns are handled by Code Enforcement under the Building Department.