Gilroy, CA Noise Ordinances: Construction Hours (2026)

Gilroy City Code Section 16.38 sets the hours construction activities may run within city limits: 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Friday, and 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Saturday, unless a validly issued permit or approval says otherwise. The ordinance bars construction entirely on Sundays and on six city holidays: New Year's Day, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving Day and Christmas. "Construction activities" is defined broadly to include excavation, grading, paving, demolition, construction, alteration or repair of any building, site, street or highway, plus delivery or removal of construction material to a site or movement of it on a site, so the clock covers material deliveries and equipment staging, not only hammering and sawing.

The chief building official, or a designee, may permit night work between 7 p.m. and 7 a.m. if satisfied the public health and safety will not be impaired and that denying the request would cause loss or inconvenience to a party in interest; that request must be made when the permit for the work is issued or while the work is already underway, not after the fact.

The city council carved out a homeowner exception, finding that a resident's own work on a single residence does not carry the same noise impact as a larger project: residents doing personal improvement or maintenance on their own home may work the same weekday and Saturday hours, plus Sundays and city holidays from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Section 16.38(d) reaches beyond the person doing the work: landowners, construction company owners, contractors, subcontractors and employers may not permit or allow anyone under their ownership, control or direction to violate the hour limits, and the chief building official's designee or the police department can enforce against them directly.