Long Beach Noise Regulations Focus on New Developments

The City of Long Beach has created the first rules in a half century to dampen noise at new homes and commercial buildings.

The City Council voted to upgrade its 48-year-old noise ordinance, with new rules to squelch noise from vehicle traffic to the Long Beach Airport at new housing to commercial projects, the Long Beach Press-Telegram reported.

The new regulations include 16 noise-reduction strategies and more than 100 policy guidelines. A major part of the noise reduction update will be its impact on land development, according to a staff report.

The plan includes several policies to ensure developers incorporate noise dampening measures into their projects. For builders, that means no “additional, unnecessary sound,” according to the newspaper.

The noise element, as the city’s plan is called, encourages developers to include noise reduction features in project design applications, and to consider installing courtyards or open spaces in noise-burdened communities as a sound barrier.

The plan outlines several ways to reduce transit-related noise, especially from freeway traffic and aircraft.

One new policy requires trucks to use designated routes on certain side streets in Long Beach, to reduce excess noise in local neighborhoods, the staff report said.

The updated ordinance directs the city to work with private developers and regional agencies to ensure quieter and easily accessible ways of getting around Long Beach, such as by walking, bicycling or driving smaller electric vehicles.

The city will review the noise element and its regulations every year, based on public input.

— Dana Bartholomew