Pasadena City Council Moves to Revise Controversial Noise Ordinance

The Pasadena City Council took unanimous steps on Monday night to revise the city’s noise ordinance, which had been criticized for potentially infringing on free speech rights. The council directed the city attorney to prepare amendments within 90 days.

The proposed changes come after the city dropped charges against hotel workers who were cited during protests earlier this year. The workers used bullhorns during picket lines, which police said violated the city’s 2008 noise ordinance.

The ordinance was used by the Pasadena Police Department to cite and ticket Unite Here Local 11 workers striking the Pasadena Hilton over wages and health benefits.

Three workers were cited during the protests.

The City Attorney’s office will not file criminal cases on three pending citations issued to protestors.

Assistant City Attorney Danielle St. Clair presented recommendations to revise the ordinance, including deleting sections on “hawkers and peddlers” and “drums” that prohibit specific noise sources. These sections could be viewed as unconstitutional “speaker-based distinctions,” she said.

St. Clair also proposed setting new exterior noise standards based on land use and time of day, rather than the current rule prohibiting noise more than five decibels above ambient levels. This would make enforcement easier and more objective, she explained.

“The current standard we have that five decibel limit applies in residential zones as well as commercial industrial and doesn’t really acknowledge the different land uses might have different noise that would be acceptable to neighboring properties,” St. Clair told the council.

Mayor Victor Gordo said the revisions aim to balance free speech rights with residents’ “quiet enjoyment of property.” He noted the changes reflect evolving court interpretations of First Amendment protections.

The council voted unanimously to direct the city attorney to draft an ordinance with the proposed changes within 90 days. They also referred the matter to the Economic Development and Technology (EdTech) Committee for further discussion of potential additional amendments.

Councilmember Tyron Hampton said the noise concerns “have impacts to people’s quality of life as well as the noise, the sound, et cetera.”

During public comment, one resident urged the council to consider stricter residential noise limits, noting 60 decibels until 10 p.m. seemed too loud for neighborhoods. 

The revision comes after community groups criticized the citations against hotel workers as a “crackdown on free speech.” On May 15, the American Civil Liberties Union sent a letter to city officials arguing parts of the noise ordinance were unconstitutional.

City Attorney Michele Beal Bagneris said the proposed changes aim to “ensure members of the public have the opportunity to exercise their free speech rights while also balancing the need to preserve public safety, public peace and the quiet enjoyment of property.”