Buncombe County, NC Noise Ordinances: Construction Hours (2026)

Buncombe County's general noise ordinance singles out building operations as an enumerated example of unlawful noise. Sec. of any day. The only way around the curfew is a permit from the county manager issued for a case of urgent necessity in the interest of public safety; that permit is good for no more than three days at a time but can be renewed as long as the emergency continues. The rule sits inside Sec. 26-181's broader definition of unreasonably loud, disturbing, and unnecessary noise, which the ordinance says is judged by time of day, proximity to residential structures, whether the noise is recurrent or constant, its volume and intensity, whether it's been mechanically amplified, and whether it could be controlled without unduly restricting the person's conduct.

Article IV separately exempts several categories from the whole noise chapter, including noise from emergency work needed to restore property to a safe condition after a disaster, and noise from normal governmental-facility operations, but ordinary residential construction outside the emergency-permit process gets no such pass for after-hours work. The Sheriff of Buncombe County enforces the article in the unincorporated area under Sec. 26-186(a), and a violation is a class 3 misdemeanor punishable by a fine of not more than $200 under Sec. 26-186(b), with each day of a continuing violation counted as a separate offense under Sec. 26-186(c).