Los Angeles, CA Noise Ordinances: Construction Hours (2026)
Construction hours in Los Angeles, CA, sometimes called construction noise rules or contractor work-hour ordinances, set when contractors can run power tools, hammers, and heavy equipment.
Key Facts
- Heavy construction/industrial limit
- 75 dB(A) at 50 feet
- Repetitive residential equipment limit
- 65 dB(A) at 50 feet
- Allowed hours
- 7:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m.
- Measurement distance
- 50 feet from the equipment
- Related hours rule
- LAMC § 41.40 (construction hours)
Summary
Between 7 a.m. and 10 p.m., powered construction and industrial machinery in or near an LA residential zone may not exceed 75 dB(A) at 50 feet, and equipment meant for repetitive residential use, lawn mowers, backpack blowers, is capped even lower at 65 dB(A), under LAMC § 112.05. Construction noise timing itself is separately governed by § 41.40.
SEC. 112.05. MAXIMUM NOISE LEVEL OF POWERED EQUIPMENT OR POWERED HAND TOOLS. Between the hours of 7:00 a.m. and 10:00 p.m., in any residential zone of the City or within 500 feet thereof, no person shall operate or cause to be operated any powered equipment or powered hand tool that produces a maximum noise level exceeding the following noise limits at a distance of 50 feet therefrom: (a) 75 dB(A) for construction, industrial, and agricultural machinery including crawler-tractors, dozers, rotary drills and augers, loaders, power shovels, cranes, derricks, motor graders, paving machines, off-highway trucks, ditchers, trenchers, compactors, scrapers, wagons, pavement breakers, compressors and pneumatic or other powered equipment; ... (c) 65 dB(A) for powered equipment intended for repetitive use in residential areas, including lawn mowers, backpack blowers, small lawn and garden tools and riding tractors.
Full Breakdown
LAMC § 112.05 sets maximum noise levels for powered equipment and hand tools operating between 7:00 a.m. and 10:00 p.m. in, or within, any residential zone of the City, measured at a distance of 50 feet from the source. Subsection (a) caps 'construction, industrial, and agricultural machinery including crawler-tractors, dozers, rotary drills and augers, loaders, power shovels, cranes, derricks, motor graders, paving machines, off-highway trucks, ditchers, trenchers, compactors, scrapers, wagons, pavement breakers, compressors and pneumatic or other powered equipment' at 75 dB(A). Subsection (b) sets the same 75 dB(A) limit for powered equipment of 20 horsepower or less meant for infrequent residential use, such as chain saws and log chippers.
Subsection (c) is stricter, at 65 dB(A), for equipment 'intended for repetitive use in residential areas, including lawn mowers, backpack blowers, small lawn and garden tools and riding tractors.' The section notes these limits are superseded by any tighter final regulations the federal EPA later adopts and publishes in the Federal Register. Section 112.03 cross-references § 41.40 for the separate question of what hours construction and excavation noise itself is allowed, so a contractor must clear both the decibel ceiling in § 112.05 and the hours restriction in § 41.40 to run equipment legally on an LA job site.
Violations & Fines
Operating construction, industrial or agricultural machinery above 75 dB(A), or repetitive-use residential equipment above 65 dB(A), measured at 50 feet during the 7 a.m.-to-10 p.m. window set by § 112.05 is a violation of this Code, enforced alongside the separate construction-hours restriction in § 41.40 and subject to the general LAMC § 11.00 penalty provisions for Municipal Code infractions.
Frequently Asked Questions
How loud can a construction crane legally run in an LA neighborhood?
Are backpack blowers held to a different noise limit than heavy equipment?
Does the decibel limit replace the rule about construction hours?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Los Angeles
California rules heatmap·Compare Los Angeles to another location·View the California noise ordinances overview
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Construction Hours in Nearby Cities
How other cities in Los Angeles County handle construction hours.