Santa Barbara County, CA Noise Ordinances: Quiet Hours (2026)

Quiet hours in the unincorporated areas of Santa Barbara County (such as Orcutt, Montecito, Summerland, Mission Canyon, the Eastern Goleta Valley, Los Alamos and Isla Vista) are set by Chapter 40 of the County Code, titled 'Nighttime Noise Restrictions.' Section 40-2 ('Noises prohibited') makes it unlawful to make, permit, continue or cause any loud and unreasonable noise, music, percussion or other sound broadcast outside a residence or building by amplified instruments, radios, loudspeakers, sound amplifiers or similar devices during protected nighttime hours. The protected period runs from 10:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m. the following morning on Sunday through Thursday, and from midnight to 7:00 a.m. on Friday and Saturday mornings, when later weekend activity is common. Because Chapter 40 is a nighttime ordinance, the County Code does not set a general daytime decibel cap for ordinary residential noise; daytime disturbances are usually handled as nuisances. The Sheriff's Office enforces these restrictions, and special rules apply in the dense student neighborhood of Isla Vista. This is County code and applies only to unincorporated territory, not to incorporated cities such as Santa Barbara, Goleta, Santa Maria, Lompoc, Carpinteria, Buellton, Solvang or Guadalupe, which have their own ordinances.