Monterey Park, CA Noise Ordinances: Quiet Hours (2026)

Chapter 4.50, Regulation of Noise and Other Disturbances, adopted under the city's police power in 2021, makes it unlawful for anyone to allow, maintain or cause a 'noise disturbance' (Section 4.50.040), defined as any loud, raucous or unusual sound that offends persons of ordinary sensibilities (Section 4.50.020). Section 4.50.080 sets that disturbance line by land use and time of day: a residential property's ambient limit drops to 50 dBA between ten p.m. and seven a.m., rising to 55 dBA during the seven a.m. to ten p.m. daytime window, while commercial and industrial land uses face flat, higher ceilings around the clock.

If the property's actual measured ambient noise level is higher than these presumed figures, the higher, measured number controls, and where a property sits on the boundary between two land uses, the lower of the two limits applies (Section 4.50.080(c)). Measurements must be taken with a precision sound level meter at the receiving property, five feet above the floor, using A-weighting (Section 4.50.070), and the limit tightens another five decibels for a steady, tonal sound such as a whine or hum (Section 4.50.090). The City Planner administers the chapter and can issue a temporary noise permit, capped at three months, if an applicant shows that compliance is impractical despite a diligent search for abatement measures (Sections 4.50.030, 4.50.060).