The city has established a quality of life and environment in which peace and quiet is highly valued by its residents, visitors and businesses. The existence of excessive noise within the city is a condition which is detrimental to the health, safety, comfort, welfare and quality of life of the citizenry and shall be regulated in the public interest. This chapter has been created to implement the goals and policies of the noise element of the city's general plan and to prohibit undesirable noises in the community. This chapter shall be referred to and cited as the Rancho Mirage noise ordinance.
(Ord. 633 § 1(Exh. A), 1995)
"Ambient noise level"
means the all encompassing noise level associated with a given environment, being a composite of sounds from all sources, excluding the alleged offensive noise, at the location and approximate time at which a comparison with the alleged offensive noise is to be made.
"Cumulative period"
means an additive period of time consisting of individual time segments which may be continuous or interrupted.
"Decibel (dBA)"
means a unit of sound level measured on a sound level meter using the A-weighting network.
"Emergency"
means any occurrence or set of circumstances involving actual or imminent physical danger, crisis, trauma or property damage which demands immediate action.
"Noise level"
means the same as sound level the terms are interchangeable.
"Person"
means any individual, association, partnership, corporation, organization, or public agency, including associated officer(s), employee(s) or department(s).
"Sound level"
means the quantity of decibels measured using the frequency weighting of A of a sound level meter.
"Sound level meter"
means an instrument meeting the American National Standards Institute's standard S1.4-1983 or later revision, for Type 1 or Type 2 specifications; or an instrument and the associated recording and analyzing equipment which will provide equivalent data.
(Ord. 633 § 1(Exh. A), 1995)
No person shall operate or cause to be operated any source of sound or allow the creation of sound or noise on property owned, leased, occupied or otherwise controlled by such person which causes the noise level, as measured on any other property, to exceed:
A. 
The noise level for the applicable zone specified in Table A-1 for a cumulative period of more than thirty minutes in any hour of the applicable time period.
Table A-1
Land Use/Zone
Time of Day
Noise Level (dBA)
Residential, Low Density (R-E, H-R, R-L-2, R-L-3)
7:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.
6:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m.
10:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m.
55
50
45
Residential, Medium and High Density, Hospital, Open Space (OS, R-M, R-H, MHP)
7:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.
6:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m.
10:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m.
60
55
50
Commercial Office, Resort Commercial, Mixed Use, Institutional (O, P, Rs-H, M-U)
7:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.
6:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m.
10:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m.
65
60
55
Commercial Neighborhood, General Commercial, Commercial Recreation, Light Industrial (C-N, C-G, I-L)
7:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.
6:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m.
10:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m.
70
65
60
B. 
For cumulative periods of time less than thirty minutes in an hour, all the noise standards in Table A-1 are increased according to Table B-1.
Table B-1
Duration of Sound
dBA Adjustment
15—30 minutes per hour
+ 3
10—15 minutes per hour
+ 5
5—10 minutes per hour
+ 10
1—5 minutes per hour
+ 15
Any period of time less than 1 minute per hour
+ 20
C. 
If the measured ambient noise level exceeds the dBA limits in Table A-1, the noise limits and their adjustments for the first three categories in Table B-1 shall be increased in five dBA increments as needed to encompass or reflect said ambient noise level. The maximum noise level under the last two categories in Table B-1 shall be increased, if necessary, only to equal the ambient noise level.
(Ord. 633 § 1(Exh. A), 1995; Ord. 1015 § 2, 2011)
A. 
The location selected for measuring exterior noise levels shall be at the point of the property line of the affected property nearest the alleged offending noise source. If possible, the ambient noise shall be measured at the same location along the property line.
B. 
If the measurement location is on a boundary between two different locations, the noise level limit applicable to the lower noise zone shall apply.
C. 
Upon receipt of a complaint or a request to investigate, the code compliance officer, equipped with an American National Standards Institute Type 2 or better sound level meter, may investigate the complaint. The investigation shall consist of measurements and the gathering of data to adequately define the noise problem and shall include the following:
1. 
Type and measurement of noise source;
2. 
Location of noise source relative to complainant's or affected property;
3. 
Time period during which noise source is considered to be intrusive;
4. 
Total duration of noise levels measured;
5. 
Date(s) and time(s) of noise measurement survey.
(Ord. 633 § 1(Exh. A), 1995)
The following activities and noise sources shall be exempted from the provisions of this chapter:
A. 
School bands, school athletic and other activities occurring on a school campus;
B. 
Outdoor gatherings, dance, shows, entertainment for events authorized through the city's special events process;
C. 
Activities conducted in public parks and public playgrounds that are dependent upon such facilities for their operation;
D. 
Any emission of sound for purposes of alerting persons to an emergency or the general emission of sound during performance of emergency work;
E. 
Construction, alteration, repair, grading or improvement of any building, structure, road or improvement to real property for which a permit has been issued by the city if said construction occurs within the allowable hours set forth in Section 15.04.030(A)(10);
F. 
The operation of any equipment and machinery at any time within any zone by the city, its employees, or any agent or franchisee of the city in the course of performing maintenance, construction or trash collection.
(Ord. 633 § 1(Exh. A), 1995)
It is unlawful and a nuisance for any person to keep, maintain or permit upon any lot or parcel of land within the city under his or her control any animal, including any fowl, which by any sound or cry shall habitually disturb the peace and comfort of any person in the reasonable and comfortable enjoyment of life or property.
(Ord. 633 § 1(Exh. A), 1995)
A. 
It is unlawful and a public nuisance for any person to permit or perform for-hire landscape and non-emergency exterior hardscape maintenance activities such as, but not limited to, tree trimming, re-seeding, lawn mowing, leaf blowing, dust and debris clearing and any other landscaping or nonemergency exterior hardscape maintenance activities which utilize any motorized saw, sander, drill, grinder, leaf-blower, lawnmower, hedge trimmer, edger, or any other similar tool or device any time on Saturday and Sunday and between the hours of six p.m. and seven a.m. the next day during weekdays, unless otherwise provided in this section.
B. 
The regular mowing or grooming of golf courses, grass tennis courts, grass croquet courts, and lawn bowling areas shall be exempt from the restrictions set forth in this section. The allowed work hours for mowing or green preparation for golf courses, grass tennis courts, grass croquet courts, and lawn bowling areas shall be between five thirty a.m. and seven p.m., seven days per week and during all seasons of the year.
C. 
Nothing set forth in this section shall permit any person from engaging in any activities that exceed the exterior noise level limits set forth in Section 8.45.030 or otherwise constitute a public nuisance as set forth in Section 14.60.325 of the Municipal Code.
(Ord. 936, § 3, 2006; Ord. 979, § 1, 2009)
The noise control program established by this chapter shall be administered by and is the responsibility of the code compliance division as directed by the director of the community development department.
(Ord. 633 § 1(Exh. A), 1995)
Violations of this chapter are declared to be a nuisance and subject to the procedures, remedies and penalties set forth in Title 14.
(Ord. 633 § 1(Exh. A), 1995; Ord. 916 § 4, 2006)