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

Because Tuolumne County has no general noise ordinance, there is no single countywide rule stating when construction may occur in the unincorporated area. The county's official FAQ addresses this directly: it notes that the county lacks a noise ordinance, but that many land-development projects have been conditioned to restrict the days and hours when construction can occur and to require that operations adhere to specific noise standards. These conditions are applied project by project through the planning and environmental review process under the county's Title 17 zoning code and the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), rather than through a blanket noise chapter. As a result, the permitted construction window for a given site depends on the conditions of approval attached to that project's building permit, use permit, or subdivision approval. The county FAQ advises that anyone concerned about a particular development should check with the Community Development Department (Community Resources Agency / Planning) to see whether such conditions apply. Routine work on a private home without special conditions is not governed by a fixed hours rule, though construction noise that becomes a disturbance could still draw a disturbing-the-peace response from the Sheriff under California Penal Code section 415.