Amherst, NY Noise Ordinances: Construction Hours (2026)
Construction hours in Amherst, NY, sometimes called construction noise rules or contractor work-hour ordinances, set when contractors can run power tools, hammers, and heavy equipment.
Key Facts
- Weekday hours
- 7:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m., Monday-Friday
- Saturday hours
- 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
- Sunday hours
- 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
- Governing section
- Amherst Code § 138-5M
- Maximum penalty
- $250 fine or 15 days jail per day
- Enforcing agency
- Amherst Police Department
Summary
Amherst confines noisy construction work to fixed weekly windows: 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. on weekdays, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday, and 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Sunday. Any erection, demolition, excavating, blasting or grading noise reaching a residential property outside those hours violates Amherst Code § 138-5M, enforced by the Amherst Police Department.
M. The conduct of any construction activities, including but not limited to the erection, demolition, assembling, altering, installing or equipping of buildings, public or private roadways, roads, premises, parks, utility lines or other property, including related activities such as land clearing, grading, earthmoving, excavating, blasting, filling or landscaping, so as to project a noise therefrom which is audible on a property being used for residential purposes except that such activities may be conducted 1) between 7:00 a.m. and 9:00 p.m., on Monday through Friday; 2) between 8:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. on Saturday; and 3) between 9:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. on Sunday.
Full Breakdown
Section 138-5M of the Amherst Town Code, part of the noise chapter's rewrite adopted July 21, 2014 by Local Law No. 30-2014, treats out-of-hours construction sound as a violation rather than leaving it to a subjective unreasonable-noise test. The subsection reaches nearly every audible construction activity: erecting, demolishing, assembling, altering, installing or equipping buildings, public or private roadways and utility lines, plus related site work such as land clearing, grading, earthmoving, excavating, blasting, filling and landscaping. m. window on Sunday, the day the code treats as most noise-sensitive.
Outside those hours, the standard is strict: it is enough that the resulting noise is audible on a property being used for residential purposes, with no decibel threshold to meet and no separate emergency-work exception written into the subsection. on nothing more than a resident's audible complaint. Penalties run through § 138-8, the chapter's general offense section, since § 138-5M carries no separate fine schedule of its own.
Violations & Fines
Construction noise outside the permitted windows is punishable under § 138-8 by a fine of up to $250 or imprisonment for up to 15 days, or both, with each day of out-of-hours work treated as a separate offense. The Amherst Police Department investigates complaints and can cite a contractor based on audibility at a residential property alone.
Frequently Asked Questions
What hours can construction crews work in Amherst without violating the noise code?
Is there a decibel limit for daytime construction noise in Amherst?
What is the fine for construction noise after hours in Amherst?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Amherst
How Amherst compares: Cities with the Strictest Construction Hours·New York rules heatmap·Compare Amherst to another location·View the New York noise ordinances overview
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Construction Hours in Nearby Cities
How other cities in Erie County handle construction hours.