Modesto Noise Ordinance: Hour Limits, Reporting, and Fines

The Modesto noise ordinance, found in Chapter 9 of the city’s Municipal Code, makes it illegal to willfully make any “loud and raucous noise” that would disturb a reasonable person. Rather than setting a single decibel cutoff, the city weighs volume, time of day, duration, and neighborhood character, and it layers specific hour limits on top for construction, power tools, and late-night voices. Violations draw administrative fines of $100, $250, or $500 depending on how many citations you’ve received in the past year.¹

What Counts as a Noise Violation

Section 4-9.102 prohibits anyone from willfully or knowingly making “any loud and raucous noise” that annoys, disturbs, injures, or endangers the comfort, health, peace, or safety of a reasonable person within the city.² There is no magic decibel number. When a sound isn’t on the list of specifically prohibited activities in Section 4-9.103, officers decide using a set of practical factors:

Volume compared to normal background sound in the area
Time and day the noise occurs
Zoning and population density of the surrounding area
How long the noise lasts and whether it keeps recurring
Whether the source is a commercial operation or a personal activity

Context does most of the work. A table saw running at 2 p.m. on a Tuesday in a commercial district is treated very differently from the same saw at 11 p.m. in a quiet residential block, even if a meter would read the same number.²

Hour Limits for Construction, Yard Work, and Power Tools

Noisy tools and construction activity are only allowed within set hours. On weekdays, you can run them between 7:00 a.m. and 9:00 p.m. On weekends and state or federal holidays, the start time shifts to 9:00 a.m., with the same 9:00 p.m. end. The restriction covers a wide range of equipment:

Hammers and other striking tools
Compressed-air tools such as impact wrenches
Hand and electric saws, drills, lathes, and routers
Gas-powered chain saws, backpack blowers, and lawn mowers
Heavy equipment including bulldozers, backhoes, pile drivers, concrete trucks, and pavement breakers
Any construction, demolition, or repair work

The weekend start time is where most neighbor disputes come from. A leaf blower at 7:30 a.m. on a Saturday is a violation; the same blower at 7:30 a.m. on a Wednesday is fine.²

Rules for Amplified Sound and Nighttime Voices

Radios, stereos, loudspeakers, bullhorns, and similar devices used in a “loud and raucous” manner can be cited at any hour. The ordinance sets no safe window for amplified sound the way it does for construction, so a loud stereo at 3 p.m. is just as actionable as one at 3 a.m. if it disturbs a reasonable person.²

Loud yelling, shouting, talking, whistling, and singing are specifically banned between 10:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m. Those sounds can still be cited at other times under the general standard, but the overnight window gives officers a clearer rule to enforce.

What’s Exempt

Section 4-9.104 excludes several categories from the ordinance entirely, no matter how loud:²

Cries for help, warning calls, and emergency vehicle sirens and horns
Parades, fireworks, and other permitted special events, but only while every permit condition is being followed
Authorized activities on city property or by public employees on duty
Bells, organs, singing, preaching, and similar sounds tied to religious worship
Trains, railroad equipment, and aircraft, which are governed by federal law
Garbage collection that complies with the city’s separate equipment rules

Motor vehicle noise on public roads is handled under the California Vehicle Code rather than this chapter, so a loud exhaust complaint about a car driving by is a traffic matter rather than a code enforcement one.

How to Report a Noise Problem

For a disturbance happening right now, call the Modesto Police Department’s non-emergency line at (209) 552-2470.³ Save 911 for situations with an actual safety threat. Barking-dog complaints go through the police department’s online incident reporting system.⁴ Ongoing code violations can be submitted through the GoModesto app, which routes to Code Enforcement.⁵ You can call anonymously, though leaving contact information lets officers follow up with you.

Before you report, gather details. Note the address of the source, the dates and times, how long each episode lasts, and what the sound is. Audio recordings help. If the problem recurs, keep a written log, with a separate entry for each occurrence. One call about one bad night is easy to dismiss. A documented pattern over several weeks is not.

Fines and Other Penalties

Modesto uses escalating administrative citations for code violations, including noise:¹

First citation: $100
Second citation: $250
Third citation: $500

If citations don’t resolve the problem, the city can pursue criminal prosecution or ask a court for a civil injunction. These judicial remedies are reserved for situations where the city believes administrative fines won’t be enough to stop the violations.¹

Appealing a Citation

You have the right to appeal an administrative noise citation. Appeals follow the general procedure in Modesto Municipal Code Section 1-6.501, which involves requesting a hearing before an administrative hearing officer who reviews evidence from both sides before issuing a decision.

If you intend to appeal, pull together whatever supports your position: timestamps showing the activity was within allowed hours, proof that an exemption applies such as a city event permit, statements from neighbors, or recordings that contradict the officer’s description. Move quickly. Appeal deadlines run from the date you receive the citation, and missing the window ends your right to contest it.

1
City of Modesto. Code Violation Legal Process
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Municode. Modesto Code of Ordinances – Chapter 9 Noise Regulations
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City of Modesto. Frequently Asked Questions
4
Modesto Police Department. Report Incident
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City of Modesto. Make a Request (GoModesto!)