Santa Barbara County, CA Noise Ordinances: Construction Hours (2026)
Construction hours in Santa Barbara County, CA, sometimes called construction noise rules or contractor work-hour ordinances, set when contractors can run power tools, hammers, and heavy equipment.
Key Facts
- Governing section
- County Code Sec. 14-22
- Default hours ban
- 7:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m.
- Exception
- Emergency operations and director-approved night work
- Applies to
- Work requiring a grading permit
- Max misdemeanor fine
- $25,000 and 6 months jail
Summary
Grading work that needs a county grading permit cannot run between 7 p.m. and 7 a.m. under County Code Sec. 14-22, unless the director of planning and development finds the work won't create a significant public nuisance or must happen at other times, and approves night work in writing.
Sec. 14-22. - Grading hours; limitation. No grading work (except for emergency operations), which requires a grading permit under the provisions of this chapter shall take place between the hours of 7:00 P.M. and 7:00 A.M. (or as required within the land use permit), unless the director finds that such operation is not likely to cause significant public nuisance or must, by necessity, be accomplished at other times and authorizes such night operations in writing.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 44 Update 1).
Full Breakdown
Sec. 14-22 sits in Chapter 14, the county Grading Code, which applies to all unincorporated territory under Sec. 14-4 and covers cuts, fills, excavation and non-agricultural land disturbance above the volume thresholds in Sec. 14-6, generally fifty cubic yards or a three-foot cut or fill. The hours limit exempts true emergency grading operations outright, and lets the director authorize night work case by case rather than through a blanket exception, which keeps most heavy equipment noise out of evening and early-morning hours near homes. window, since Sec.
14-22 defers to hours "required within the land use permit" where one applies. The building official, appointed under Sec. 1, administers the chapter day to day, while the director of planning and development, defined in Sec. 14-3, is responsible for overall administration and for granting any night-work authorization. A stop-work order under Sec. 14-20 can halt any grading, including hours violations, and continuing work after such an order is itself a separate unlawful act.
Violations & Fines
A grading violation under Chapter 14, including working outside permitted hours, can be filed as an infraction or misdemeanor at the district attorney's discretion under Sec. 14-33. As an infraction the fine is up to $100 for a first offense, $200 for a second within a year, and $500 for each further offense; as a misdemeanor the fine runs $500 to $25,000, with up to six months in county jail, and each day of the violation is a separate offense.
Frequently Asked Questions
What hours can grading contractors work in unincorporated Santa Barbara County?
Can a land use permit set different hours than the grading code?
What's the penalty for grading outside permitted hours?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Santa Barbara County
How Santa Barbara County compares: Cities with the Strictest Construction Hours·California rules heatmap·Compare Santa Barbara County to another location·View the California noise ordinances overview
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