There are 4 legal settlements with the OC Fairgrounds which protect the neighborhoods around the Fairgrounds. Each settlement is the product of a Master Site Plan. The settlements are:

1980 Settlement with the City of Costa Mesa requiring storm water runoff management, traffic management, compliance with the municipal code for noise limits and specific types of development, and deletion of a planned commercial development, among other provisions.

Concerned Citizens Settlement to reign in the Pacific Amphitheatre which led to the closure of the Pacific Amphitheatre from 1995 to 2003 and imposed noise limits on the venue, among other provisions.

1996 Settlement with the City of Costa Mesa which imposes a cap of a 25,500 total persons on the property at any time outside of the annual OC Fair, requires the use of leased parking and shuttles to meet parking demands, limits development, and eliminated proposed hotel, restaurant and off track betting facility, among other provisions.

2012 Settlement with the Orange County Fairgrounds Preservation Society to continue the noise limits on the Pacific Amphitheatre, require the use of a trained sound monitor, require a complaint monitoring system for noise complaints, and limit seating in the Pacific Amphitheatre to 8,500 seats, among other provisions.