National City, CA Public Conduct: Loud Party Ordinance (2026)

The National City City Council adopted Chapter 10.46, Police Services at Parties, Gatherings or Events on Private Property, after finding that officers had been required to make as many as three return calls to one location to disperse uncooperative participants. Section 10.46.010 says those return visits drain manpower and resources, leave other areas of the city without minimal levels of police protection, and constitute a public nuisance.

The chapter reaches any group of persons assembled or assembling on private property for a social occasion or social activity. Liability lands on the "person responsible for the event," defined in § 10.46.020(B) as the person who owns the property, the person in charge of the premises, the person who organized the gathering, or any combination of them. When that person is a minor, the parents or guardians of the minor are jointly and severally liable for the costs incurred for police services.

The sequence matters. Under § 10.46.030 a police officer at the scene must first determine that there is a threat to public peace, health, safety or general welfare. Section 10.46.020(D) then defines a special security assignment as the assignment of police officers and services during the second call to a location after the distribution of a written warning that the party violates the law. The responsible persons are billed for that second response. The return call can also end in the arrest or citation of violators of the California Penal Code or other local ordinances.

Police services covers the officers' salaries for the time actually spent responding, handling associated duties or remaining at the event, at a rate the director of finance sets, plus the actual cost of medical treatment for injured officers and the cost of repairing damaged city equipment or property. Under § 10.46.040 the fee is no less than and does not exceed the cost of police services for a single event. The chief of police reports the responsible person's name and address, the date and time, the services performed and the costs to the director of finance in writing, and the director of finance issues the billing (§ 10.46.050).

A person who is billed can appeal to the City Council by filing a notice of appeal with the city clerk within fifteen days of the date of the billing. The hearing is held within thirty days after the appeal is filed, anyone can present evidence, and the council's decision to grant or deny the appeal is final (§ 10.46.060).