Quiet hours in Sierra County, CA — also called the noise ordinance, nighttime noise rules, or residential quiet time — define the hours during which excessive noise is prohibited.
Unincorporated Sierra County has no general, jurisdiction-wide quiet-hours noise ordinance. The only codified quiet hours apply to short-term rentals, where SCC 15.10.060 imposes quiet hours from 10:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m. daily. Elsewhere, general nuisance and California law apply.
Sierra County's code (administered for the unincorporated areas including Downieville, Sierra City, Sierraville, Calpine, and Alleghany) does not contain a stand-alone noise-control chapter setting general nighttime quiet hours for all residents. The one express set of quiet hours in the code is found in the short-term rental standards. Under Sierra County Code Section 15.10.060(4) (Noise/Outdoor Activities), 'Noise limits and quiet hours are imposed from 10:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m. daily,' and during those hours noise originating from inside or outside the rental (music, parties, gatherings, barking dogs, and the like) that can be easily detected from adjoining properties is strictly prohibited during rental periods. These hours must be posted inside the rental. For ordinary residential noise outside the short-term rental context, the county relies on its nuisance-dog rule (SCC 8.08.160) and on California state law rather than a fixed decibel-and-hours table. Because the county seat, Downieville, is unincorporated, county rules apply there; only the City of Loyalton (the lone incorporated city) sets its own municipal noise rules.
For short-term rentals, violating the 10:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m. quiet-hour condition is an enforceable violation of the rental's administrative use permit (SCC 15.10.060) and is handled by the County Planning Department, which can pursue permit revocation. General disturbances may also be pursued as public nuisances under county and California law.
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