Chesapeake, VA Noise Ordinances: Construction Hours (2026)
Construction hours in Chesapeake, VA, sometimes called construction noise rules or contractor work-hour ordinances, set when contractors can run power tools, hammers, and heavy equipment.
Key Facts
- Weeknight curfew
- 10:00 p.m. to 6:30 a.m.
- Weekend curfew
- 10:00 p.m. Sat. to 8:00 a.m. Sun.
- Audible threshold
- Property line, shared wall, or 50 ft
- Emergency work
- Storm/safety repairs exempt
- Civil penalty
- $250 first offense, $500 repeat
- Relief available
- Special permit from dir. of dev. & permits
Summary
Construction, demolition, alteration, repair, or excavation noise in Chesapeake is barred overnight: 10:00 p.m. to 6:30 a.m. on weeknights and 10:00 p.m. Saturday to 8:00 a.m. Sunday, whenever the sound carries across a property line, through a shared wall, or 50 feet from the site. Chesapeake City Code Sec. 26-124(3) sets the cutoff.
Sec. 26-124. - Noise-Prohibited acts 10:00 p.m.-6:30 a.m. The following acts are declared to be prohibited if conducted between the hours of 10:00 p.m. and 6:30 a.m. the following day Monday through Saturday and between 10:00 p.m. on Saturday and 8:00 a.m. the following Sunday and generating sound plainly audible i) across real property boundaries; ii) through walls or partitions common to two units within a building; or iii) at a distance of 50 feet or more from the source of the noise: ... (3)Construction, erection, demolition, alteration, repair, excavation or demolition work on public or private property, or in any building, structure, street, road, highway or alley.
Full Breakdown
Sec. m. m. m. Sunday, whenever the noise is plainly audible across a real property boundary, through a wall or partition shared by two units, or at 50 feet or more from the source. The same curfew covers powered lawn equipment, blowers, and other powered machinery under Sec. 26-124(4), so a contractor running a generator or compressor overnight faces the identical restriction as a demolition crew. Outside the curfew, ordinary daytime construction noise is not subject to the decibel limits in Sec. 26-130 unless it becomes a repeated nuisance complaint, since Sec.
26-124's per se prohibition, not the sound meter table, is what governs construction activity. Sec. 26-141(10) exempts emergency work needed to restore property to a safe condition after a storm or other public calamity, or work required to protect people or property from imminent danger, from the curfew entirely. for a legitimate reason, such as a paving pour that cannot be interrupted, can apply to the director of development and permits for a special permit under Sec. 26-142, which weighs the time, duration, and volume of the noise against the hardship of stopping.
Citizens do not need police corroboration to pursue a violation; Sec. 26-127 lets a resident take an affidavit straight to the Chesapeake magistrate for a summons.
Violations & Fines
A first offense against the construction noise curfew is a civil infraction with a $250.00 penalty, doubling to $500.00 for each later offense arising from the same facts, under Sec. 26-131(a). The city can pursue repeat or flagrant violators criminally instead, as a class 4 misdemeanor punishable by up to $250.00 per occurrence, with each night of noncompliance charged as a separate offense. Noise generated by permitted industrial-property business operations is excluded from the civil summons track.
Frequently Asked Questions
What time can construction crews start work in Chesapeake?
Is there an exception for emergency repairs after a storm?
Can a contractor get permission to work past 10 p.m.?
Does the daytime noise decibel limit apply to construction sites?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Chesapeake
How Chesapeake compares: Cities with the Strictest Construction Hours·Compare Chesapeake to another location·View the Virginia noise ordinances overview
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