Bristol, CT Noise Ordinances: Construction Hours (2026)

Bristol's noise article does not set a separate construction-specific decibel cap; instead, Sec. 15-19 lists exemptions from the article's general standards, and subsection (b) exempts "noise generated by any construction equipment operated during daytime hours." Day-time hours are defined in Sec. 15-17 as 7:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 9:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. on Sunday. Because the exemption is expressly limited to day-time hours, construction equipment run outside that window loses the exemption and becomes subject to the full zone-based decibel table in Sec.

15-21(b), which sets materially lower limits for noise reaching a residential receptor, particularly during night-time hours. Sec. 15-19(d) separately exempts blasting, but only between 8:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. and only with a state or local permit, and Sec. 15-19(g) exempts public facility maintenance noise, again only during day-time hours; the pattern across the article is that active-work noise is tolerated in daylight and unprotected after dark. Sec. 15-20 requires compliance measurements to be taken with an ANSI-standard sound level meter about one foot inside the neighboring property line.

The Bristol Police Department enforces the article under Sec. 15-24, and Sec. 15-25 fines a first violation $90, rising to $200 for a second consecutive day and $400 for every day after that, so a contractor running equipment overnight risks an escalating daily fine rather than a single flat penalty.