Weld County, CO Noise Ordinances: Construction Hours (2026)

Weld County's noise rules sit in Chapter 14, Article IX, and Section 14-9-10(B) confines them to the unincorporated territory of the County. Section 14-9-60 then lists what the Article "shall not apply to," and subsection N reads: "Any noise produced at a construction site." The exemption carries no hour limit, no decibel ceiling and no permit condition. Article IX prints no earliest start time and no latest quitting time for building work, so the county noise code does not set a construction curfew.

The definitions show how wide the exemption reaches. Section 14-9-20 defines Construction Activities as any and all activity incidental to the erection, demolition, assembling, alteration, installation or equipping of buildings, structures, roads and appurtenances thereof, including land clearing, grading, excavating and filling. That term also labels a row in the maximum-noise table of § 14-9-40, which lists Industrial Area or Construction Activities at 80 dB(A) from 7:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. and 75 dB(A) from 9:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m. Read that row alongside subsection N with care: the exemption sentence is unconditional, and it is the text that speaks directly to noise at a construction site.

Neighboring exemptions in the same section cover related work. Subsection D exempts noise from agricultural equipment used on a farm or ranch, subsection J exempts the sound of a lawnmower, snow blower or other power or hand tool, and subsection L exempts noise produced in the course of normal mining operations or oil and gas exploration, drilling and production.

Oil and gas is where Weld County does set construction-phase limits, in Chapter 21, Article V, § 21-5-416. During the Construction Phase, Operators in the Ag-Rural Planning Area must meet the NL-4 standard: 70 db(A) from 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. and 65 db(A) from 7:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m. Operators in the Near-Urban Planning Area must meet NL-3: 65 db(A) by day and 60 db(A) by night. Readings are taken twenty-five (25) feet from the exterior wall of the impacted building unit, and the OGED Director can require a lower level. Impulsive or shrill noise gets an extra five (5) db(A) for no more than 15 minutes in any 1-hour period.