Tulare County, CA Noise Ordinances: Construction Hours (2026)

A direct review of the Tulare County Ordinance Code confirms there is no countywide construction-hour ordinance for unincorporated areas. Title 7, Chapter 15 (Building Regulations) adopts the 2022 California Building Code (Section 7-15) but addresses permits, structural standards, grading, and pool barriers — not construction noise timing. The county's primary noise rule in Section 5-01-1215(b) applies generally to amplified sound and 'Excessive Noise Sources' at 65 dB at the property line; 'Excessive Noise Sources' is defined in Section 5-01-1210(k) to include 'frequent, repetitive, or continuous sounds from starting, operating, repairing, rebuilding, or testing of motor vehicles, motorcycles, dirt bikes, or other off-highway vehicles, or any internal combustion engines' but does not call out construction equipment as a separate category with its own hours. By contrast, the General Plan Noise Element states that construction noise is generally addressed through land-use compatibility standards (60 dB Ldn/CNEL exterior, 45 dB Ldn interior) at the planning stage rather than through fixed hours. Builders in unincorporated Tulare County should follow the 65 dB property-line cap of Section 5-01-1215(b) and any project-specific conditions of approval; cities such as Visalia, Tulare, Porterville, and Dinuba have their own construction-hours ordinances that supersede county rules inside city limits.