Quiet hours in Nevada County, CA — also called the noise ordinance, nighttime noise rules, or residential quiet time — define the hours during which excessive noise is prohibited.
Unincorporated Nevada County applies a tiered exterior noise standard set in Land Use & Development Code Section L-II 4.1.7. At residential receivers the daytime cap (7 AM-7 PM) is 55 dBA Leq / 75 dBA Lmax; evening (7 PM-10 PM) is 50 dBA Leq / 65 dBA Lmax; nighttime (10 PM-7 AM) is 45 dBA Leq. Where two zoning districts abut, the more restrictive district's standard plus 5 dBA applies.
Section L-II 4.1.7 of the Nevada County Land Use & Development Code establishes the noise performance standards used countywide. Measurements are taken at the property line of the noise-sensitive receiver. The General Plan Noise Element treats 10 PM through 7 AM as 'sleeping hours' and the zoning ordinance enforces the 45 dBA Leq nighttime cap during that window. Subsection L-II 4.1.7.D.4 adds the abutting-district rule: where two different zoning districts share a boundary, the lower (more restrictive) standard plus 5 dBA governs. Cities of Grass Valley, Nevada City, and the Town of Truckee enforce their own municipal noise codes inside their limits and are not covered by the County standard.
Violations of Title 12 / L-II 4.1.7 are enforced as zoning violations by Nevada County Code Compliance; after-hours noise complaints typically go to the Nevada County Sheriff (530-265-1471) as a disturbance of the peace under California Penal Code 415.
Nevada County, CA
RVs, travel trailers, and boats may be stored on a residential parcel in unincorporated Nevada County, but full-time occupancy of an RV as a dwelling is proh...
Nevada County, CA
Beekeeping is broadly allowed in unincorporated Nevada County. Hobbyist apiaries with fewer than 10 hives pay no County registration fee (Board Resolution 93...
Nevada County, CA
Section L-II 3.4 of the Land Use & Development Code allows backyard chickens (hens only, no roosters) in the R1 and RA zoning districts. Hen counts range fro...
Nevada County, CA
Nevada County Code Title 8 prohibits any dog or other animal from being 'at large' off its owner's premises. An animal is deemed at large when it is off the ...
Nevada County, CA
Outdoor burning of dry landscape vegetation is allowed in unincorporated Nevada County only on permissive burn days during the declared open burn season (typ...
Nevada County, CA
Nearly the entire unincorporated Nevada County is mapped by CAL FIRE as a High or Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zone (FHSZ) in the State Responsibility Area...
See how Nevada County's quiet hours rules stack up against other locations.
Help us keep this page accurate. If you notice an error or outdated information, let us know.