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Mendocino County Unincorporated
City Zoning Code

APPENDIX C

EXTERIOR NOISE LIMIT STANDARDS

Exterior Noise Limit Standards

(Levels not to be exceeded more than thirty (30) minutes in any hour)

Receiving Land Use Category 3,4 Time Period Noise Level Standards (dBA) 1,2
Rural/Suburban Urban/Highways 5
One and Two Family 10:00 p.m.—7:00 a.m. 40 50
Residential 7:00 a.m.—10:00 p.m. 50 60
>Multifamily 10:00 p.m.—7:00 a.m. 45 55
Public Spaces 7:00 a.m.—7:00 p.m. 50 60
Limited Commercial 10:00 p.m.—7:00 a.m. 55
Some Multifamily 7:00 a.m.—10:00 p.m. 60
Commercial 10:00 p.m.—7:00 a.m. 60
7:00 a.m.—10:00 p.m. 65
Light Industrial Any time 70
>Heavy Industrial Any time 75
Adjustments to Noise Level Standard
Duration
 L 50 30 minutes per hour     Standard
 L 25 15 minutes per hour     Standard + 5 dB
 L 0 Maximum permissible level     Standard + 20 dB
Character Tone, whine, screech, hum, or impulsive, hammering, riveting, or music or speech     Standard + 5 dB
Ambient Level1 Existing ambient L 50 , L 25     Standard + 5 dB
Existing ambient L 0     Existing maximum

 

Interpretive Footnotes

1.

When an acoustical study demonstrates that ambient levels exceed the noise standard, then the ambient levels become the standard.

2.

Higher noise levels may be permitted for temporary, short-term or intermittent activities when no sensitive or residential uses will be affected.

3.

County staff shall recommend which receiving land use category applies to a particular project, based on the mix of uses and community noise levels. Industrial noise limits intended to be applied at the boundary of industrial zones, rather than within industrial areas.

4.

The "rural/suburban" standard should be applied adjacent to noise sensitive uses such as hospitals or convalescence homes.

5.

"Highways" apply to roads and highways where average daily traffic (ADT) exceeds ten thousand (10,000).

(Ord. No. 4017 (part), adopted 1998)

MENDOCINO COUNTY

ZONING ORDINANCE

Title 20—Division II
of The Mendocino County Code