Bishop, CA Noise Ordinances: Quiet Hours (2026)

Bishop Municipal Code Chapter 8.12 (Noise Control) starts from a general standard, not a decibel number. Under § 8.12.010 it is unlawful for any person to make or continue, within the limits of the city, any loud, unnecessary or unusual noise which injures or endangers the health, peace or safety of others. The section reaches both making a noise and continuing one, and it applies to any person inside the city limits.

The standard has two halves. The noise must be loud, unnecessary or unusual, and the word "or" means any one of those qualities is enough. The noise must also injure or endanger the health, peace or safety of others. A noise that endangers someone's peace is covered even if no injury has happened yet.

Construction gets an express carve-out tied to the clock. The chapter will not prohibit activities incidental to construction or repairing being conducted after the hour of 7:00 a.m. or before the hour of 10:00 p.m. That fixes 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. as Bishop's window for construction and repair. Outside that window the carve-out no longer shields the work.

Bishop does not set clock-based curfews for all noise, but the night hours carry extra rules. Sound plainly audible 50 feet away between 10 p.m. and 8 a.m. is treated as prima facie unlawful. Yelling, radios and similar disturbances between 10 p.m. and 8 a.m. that disturb residents' repose are specifically prohibited.

The morning hours do not line up. The construction window opens at 7:00 a.m., while the night audibility test and the rule on yelling and radios run until 8 a.m. Both windows share the same 10 p.m. start.

State law backs up the local chapter. California Penal Code 415 criminalizes maliciously disturbing another's peace with loud, unreasonable noise, and it is a separate offense from a violation of Chapter 8.12.