Gilroy, CA Noise Ordinances: Quiet Hours (2026)

Gilroy's numeric noise curfew targets noise crossing from a non-residentially zoned property onto a residential property line, not general household noise. Under § 30.41.31(b)(2), that noise is capped at a maximum of 70 dBA measured as L10, and the section confines it to the hours of 7:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m.; between 10:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m. it is prohibited outright, regardless of the decibel reading. The definitions in § 30.41.31(a) tie "L10" to the maximum noise level exceeded no more than ten percent (10%) of the time, measured on a sound level meter at slow response using the A-weighted decibel scale.

Subsection (c) carves out four exceptions to the exterior noise limits generally: emergency personnel, equipment, vehicles, alarms, or sirens; refuse and recycling collection vehicles operating between 5:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m.; special events under an approved special events permit; and city-approved activities on public property. The article's statement of intent in § 30.41.10 frames the curfew as protecting the health, safety, and welfare of residents from objectionable land-use noise, and § 30.41.20's general nuisance standard lets the planning director require written neighbor consent before approving a project that risks creating a noise nuisance outside this specific numeric rule. The section was adopted with the 2013 zoning ordinance and amended by Ordinance No. 2019-08, § 23, on October 7, 2019.