Apple Valley, CA Noise Ordinances: Vehicle Noise (2026)

Section 9.73.070 does not set its own decibel table for cars and motorcycles on public streets; instead it states that motor vehicle noise on a public right-of-way is regulated under California Vehicle Code §§ 23130 and 23130.5, with equipment (muffler and exhaust) violations covered by CVC §§ 27150 and 27151. The ordinance makes clear that any peace officer of any California jurisdiction, not just Apple Valley's own department, may enforce these sections, and states it 'shall be the policy of the Town' to enforce them. Sounding a vehicle horn for anything other than a warning signal is separately unlawful under subsection B, citing Vehicle Code § 27001.

Two provisions add town-specific limits. Subsection C bars operating any motorized recreational vehicle, licensed or not, including motorcycles, go-carts, dune buggies and campers, off a public right-of-way if the noise would violate the exterior noise standard set for the property's zone under § 9.73.050(A)(1). Subsection E limits any standing vehicle with a gross vehicle weight rating over 10,000 pounds: it may not idle with auxiliary equipment running for more than 15 minutes in any hour, between 10 p.m. and 7 a.m., within 150 feet of a residential area or designated noise-sensitive zone, absent traffic congestion. Refuse trucks are separately barred from collecting between 7 p.m. and 7 a.m. near residential or noise-sensitive areas, and new compacting equipment purchased after December 1994 is capped at 80 dBA measured 50 feet away.

Enforcement of the state Vehicle Code sections runs through any California peace officer, while the town-added standing-vehicle and off-road provisions fall to the Noise Control Officer and Code Enforcement.