Gary, IN Noise Ordinances: Construction Hours (2026)

Section 28-174 of the Gary Municipal Code makes it unlawful to erect, including excavate for, demolish, alter or repair any building on a Sunday, or between 6:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m. on any other day. The only way around the restriction is a permit from the city engineer for urgent necessity in the interest of public health and safety, and even that permit is capped at three days at a time, though it can be renewed for further three-day periods while the emergency continues. The section also lets the public works engineer allow off-hours work more broadly: if the engineer determines the work will not impair public health and safety and that delay would cause loss or inconvenience to a party in interest, permission can be granted when the work permit itself is applied for or while the job is already underway.

A companion provision, § 28-175, targets heavy equipment specifically: operating a pile driver, steam shovel, pneumatic hammer, derrick, or steam or electric hoist between 10:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m., or at any time on a Sunday, is separately unlawful whenever the equipment creates loud or unusual noise. Both sections trace to the same 1991 noise ordinance, Ord. No. 6545-B, and both are enforced the way the rest of Chapter 28's noise division is: a police officer can order the work stopped under § 28-179, and refusal to comply without undue delay can lead to arrest.

Because § 28-174 sits inside the Code's general-penalty scheme, contractors who ignore the hours restriction, or who work past the scope of an emergency permit, face the same fine structure as any other Code violation under § 1-7.