Torrance Municipal Code Art. 5 Amplified Sound

The Council enacts the provisions of this Article for the sole purpose of securing and promoting the public health, comfort, safety, and welfare for its citizenry. While recognizing that the use of sound amplifying equipment is protected by the constitutional rights of freedom of speech and assembly, the Council nevertheless feels obligated to reasonably regulate the use of sound amplifying equipment in order to protect the correlative constitutional rights of the citizens of this community to privacy and freedom from public nuisance of loud and unnecessary noise.

It shall be unlawful for any person, other than personnel of law enforcement or governmental agencies, to install, use or operate within the City a loudspeaker or sound amplifying equipment in a fixed or movable position or mounted upon any sound truck for the purposes of giving instructions, directions, talks, addresses, lectures or transmitting music to any persons or assemblages of persons in or upon any street, alley, sidewalk, park, place or public property without first filing an application and obtaining a permit therefor as set forth in Division 3 of this Code.

The commercial and noncommercial use of sound amplifying equipment shall be subject to the following regulations:

a) The only sounds permitted shall be either music or human speech, or both.

b) The operation of sound amplifying equipment shall only occur between the hours of 9:00 A.M. and 9:00 P.M. each day except on Sundays and legal holidays. The operation of sound amplifying equipment for noncommercial purposes on Sundays and legal holidays shall only occur between the hours of 10:00 A.M. and 6:00 P.M.

c) No sound emanating from sound amplifying equipment shall exceed fifteen (15) dBA above the ambient as measured at any property line.

d) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection c) of this Section, sound amplifying equipment shall not be operated within two hundred (200) feet of churches, schools or hospitals.

e) In any event, the volume of sound shall be so controlled that it will not be unreasonably loud, raucous, jarring, disturbing or a nuisance to reasonable persons of normal sensitiveness within the area of audibility.