*ATTENTION ALL UNINCORPORATED MONTEREY COUNTY RESIDENTS*
Monterey County Board of Supervisors passed and adopted an amended county ordinance on July 23, 2019, regarding regulated noise in the unincorporated areas of Monterey County. The Sheriff’s Office will be enforcing this ordinance. We have already been providing residents with copies of the new ordinance and issuing citations to those in violation. We understand this has been an important topic to North Monterey County residents & we appreciate the community’s patience while we worked to remedy this. The Sheriff’s Office encourages the community we serve to enjoy time with their families while being mindful of neighbors who enjoy the peace & tranquility the unincorporated areas have to offer. We have provided the County Counsel summary below, please read the full ordinance if you believe you will be affected by this ordinance.
County Counsel Summary
This ordinance amends Chapter 10.60 of the Monterey County Code regulating noise. Existing County regulations prohibit operation of noise producing devices whose noise exceeds 85 dBA measured from fifty feet there from and prohibits nighttime noises at certain levels between 10 p.m. and 7 a.m. This ordinance adds a “plainly audible” noise detection standard, prohibiting nightime noise that is “plainly audible” at a distance of fifty feet from the source. The ordinance also extends the nightime noise limitation to 9 p.m. rather than 10 p.m. This ordinance classifies the first violation of this Chapter as an infraction punishable by a fine of not more than two hundred and fifty dollars and classifies all subsequent violations as a misdemeanor punishable by a fine of not more than one thousand dollars, by imprisonment in the County jail, or both.