Yuba County Municipal Code Art. 4 Amplified Sound

The Board of Supervisors enacts this legislation for the sole purpose of securing and promoting the public health, comfort, safety, and welfare of its citizenry. While recognizing that the use of sound amplifying equipment is protected by the constitutional rights of freedom of speech and assembly, the Board of Supervisors 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 the public nuisance of loud and unnecessary noise.

(Prior Code, § 8.20.410; Ord. No. 1094)

It shall be unlawful for any person, other than personnel of law enforcement or governmental agencies, to install, use, or operate within the County any loudspeaker or sound amplifying equipment in a fixed or moveable 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, or place without first obtaining a permit therefor as set forth in Section 8.20.720.

(Prior Code, § 8.20.420; Ord. No. 1094)

The commercial and noncommercial use of sound amplifying equipment, both under this Article and Article 7, shall be subject to the following regulations:

(1) The only sounds permitted shall be either music or human speech or both.

(2) The operation of sound amplifying equipment shall only occur between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 9:00 p.m. each day, except on Sundays and legal holidays. No operation of sound amplifying equipment for commercial purposes shall be permitted on Sundays or legal holidays. The operation of sound amplifying equipment for noncommercial purposes on Sundays or legal holidays shall only occur between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m.

(3) Sound emanating from sound amplifying equipment shall not exceed 15 decibels above the ambient base noise level set forth in Section 8.20.140.

(4) Notwithstanding the provisions of Subsection (3) of this Section, sound amplifying equipment shall not be operated within 200 feet of churches, schools, hospitals, or Yuba County buildings. Nothing herein shall be construed as depriving churches, schools, hospitals or the County the right to use sound amplifying equipment on their own property so long as such use complies with other provisions of this Section and Section 8.20.720.

(5) 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.

(Prior Code, § 8.20.430; Ord. No. 1094)