HomeMy WebLinkAboutORD 1432ORDINANCE NO. 1432
AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PALM
DESERT, CALIFORNIA, AMENDING PALM DESERT MUNICIPAL CODE
CHAPTER 9.24, NOISE CONTROL, TO ESTABLISH UNIFORM
PROPERTY MAINTENANCE OPERATING HOURS AND MAKING A
FINDING OF EXEMPTION UNDER CEQA.
The purpose of this ordinance is to amend Palm Desert Municipal
Code Chapter 9.24 Noise Control to align and update the operating
hours for property maintenance activities, remove outdated language
pertaining to noise related to agricultural operations, and exempt
homeowners from the operating hours restrictions.
THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PALM DESERT DOES HEREBY
ORDAIN AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Amendment to Municipal Code. Section 9.24.060 Special
Provisions- Exemptions of Chapter 9.24 Noise Control of the Palm Desert Municipal
Code is amended to read as follows:
9.24.060 Special Provisions-Exemptions.
The following activities shall be exempted from the provisions of this chapter:
A. School bands, school athletic and school entertainment events.
B. Outdoor gatherings, public dances, shows and sporting and entertainment
events; provided, the events are authorized by the city.
C. Activities conducted in public parks and public playgrounds.
D. Any mechanical device, apparatus or equipment used, related to or
connected with emergency machinery, vehicle or work.
E. Mobile noise sources associated with pest control through pesticide
application.
F. The provisions of this regulation shall not preclude the construction,
operation, maintenance and repairs of equipment, apparatus or facilities of
park and recreation departments, public work projects or essential public
services and facilities, including those of public utilities subject to the
regulatory jurisdiction of the California Public Utilities Commission.
G. Noise sources associated with construction activities. Refer to
9.24.070, Construction activities.
H. Property owners/tenants of residential dwellings conducting non-
commercial property maintenance Monday through Sunday
Ordinance No. 1432 Page 2
between the hours of 7 am to 5:30 pm, including government
code holidays.
SECTION 2. Amendment to Municipal Code. Section 9.24.075 Property
Maintenance Activities of Chapter 9.24 Noise Control of the Palm Desert Municipal
Code is amended to read as follows:
9.24.075 Property Maintenance Activities.
A. Noise sources associated with property maintenance activity and all
portable blowers, lawnmowers, edgers or similar devices shall be prohibited
except during the following hours:
Monday through Sunday: 7 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.
Government code holidays: Not allowed
Notwithstanding the hours of permitted operations, such equipment that
constitutes a public nuisance may be abated as otherwise provided in this
code.
With the exception of blowers, all maintenance activities associated with golf
courses and/or tennis courts can operate from five-thirty a.m. to seven p.m.,
seven days a week.
B. All municipal maintenance activities are not subject to subsection A.
C. No person shall willfully make or continue, or willfully cause to be made or
continued, any noise from any portable powered blower at a level which
exceeds seventy decibels (dBA) measured at the midpoint of a wall area twenty
feet long and ten feet high and at the horizontal distance fifty feet away from
the midpoint of the wall, or not more than seventy-six decibels (dBA) at a
horizontal distance of twenty-four feet using a sound level meter.
D. No portable powered blower shall be operated in a manner which will
permit dirt, dust, debris, leaves, grass clippings, cuttings, or trimmings from
trees or shrubs to be blown or deposited onto neighboring property or public
right-of-way. All waste shall be removed and disposed of in a sanitary
manner by the use or property occupant.
SECTION 3. CEQA Exemption. The City Council finds that this ordinance is exempt
from the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) pursuant to CEQA Guidelines
based on the clear assessment that there is no possibility the ordinance may have a
significant effect on the environment. The ordinance provides administrative clarifications
Ordinance No. 1432 Page 3
regarding operating hours for the use of power equipment associated with property
maintenance activities without expanding land use or initiating new developments, thereby
maintaining existing environmental baselines. It ensures operational continuity for operating
hours related to property maintenance. The amendments are administrative in nature and
do not involve construction, physical alterations, or increases in development intensity, thus
SECTION 4. Severability. If any section, subsection, sentence, clause, or phrase of
this ordinance is for any reason held to be invalid or unconstitutional, such decision shall
not affect the validity of the remaining portions of this ordinance. The City Council hereby
declares that it would have passed this ordinance, and each section, subsection, sentence,
clause and phrase thereof, irrespective of the fact that any one or more sections,
subsections, sentences, clauses or phrases be declared invalid.
SECTION 5. Posting and Publication. The City Clerk of the City of Palm Desert,
California, is hereby directed to publish a summary of this Ordinance in the Desert Sun, a
newspaper of general circulation, published and circulated in the City of Palm Desert,
California, and shall be in full force and effective thirty (30) days after its adoption.
ADOPTED ON JULY 10, 2025.
____________________________
JAN C. HARNIK
MAYOR
ATTEST:
____________________________
ANTHONY J. MEJIA
CITY CLERK
Ordinance No. 1432 Page 4
I, Anthony J. Mejia, City Clerk of the City of Palm Desert, California, do hereby
certify that Ordinance No. 1432 is a full, true, and correct copy, and was introduced at a
regular meeting of the Palm Desert City Council on June 26, 2025, and adopted at a
regular meeting of the City Council held on July 10, 2025, by the following vote:
AYES: NESTANDE, PRADETTO, QUINTANILLA, TRUBEE, AND HARNIK
NOES: NONE
ABSENT: NONE
ABSTAIN: NONE
RECUSED: NONE
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand and affixed the official seal of the
City of Palm Desert, California, on __________________ .
___________________________
ANTHONY J. MEJIA
CITY CLERK