Lower Paxton, PA Noise Ordinances: Construction Hours (2026)
Construction hours in Lower Paxton, PA, sometimes called construction noise rules or contractor work-hour ordinances, set when contractors can run power tools, hammers, and heavy equipment.
Key Facts
- Exempt construction window
- 7:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m., § 131-2B(2)
- Work covered
- Utilities repair or installation, structures, sidewalks, streets
- Emergency repairs
- Not restricted by time
- Outside the window
- § 131-2A table limits apply
- Maximum penalty
- $1,000 fine or 90 days, each day a separate offense
- Court
- Magisterial District Judge, summary proceeding
Summary
In Lower Paxton Township, Dauphin County, sound from repair or installation of utilities or construction of structures, sidewalks or streets is exempt from the Chapter 131 decibel limits between 7:00 a.m. and 8:00 p.m. Emergency repairs are not restricted by time. Work outside that window falls back under the § 131-2A limits.
B. The maximum permissible sound level limits set forth in the above table shall not apply to any of the following noise sources: ... (2) Repair or installation of utilities or construction of structures, sidewalks or streets between the hours of 7:00 a.m. and 8:00 p.m., except for emergency repairs which are not restricted by time.
Full Breakdown
Construction noise in Lower Paxton Township is handled in the Lower Paxton Township Noise Ordinance, Chapter 131, adopted 3-10-2020 as Ord. No. 20-02, through an exemption in § 131-2B(2). The exemption removes the table limits of § 131-2A for repair or installation of utilities or construction of structures, sidewalks or streets between the hours of 7:00 a.m. and 8:00 p.m. The printed text names hours only and does not mention days of the week or holidays. Emergency repairs are not restricted by time. Because the exemption covers only those hours, noise from the same work outside them is measured against the table in § 131-2A.
At the lot line of a residential use in a residential district the limit is 60 dBA from 7:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. other than Sundays and the named holidays, and 55 dBA from 9:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m. plus Sundays, Christmas, Thanksgiving, New Year's, Easter Sunday, Labor Day and Memorial Day. A principal residential use in a commercial or industrial district is held to 65 dBA and 60 dBA in the same bands, and any other lot line to 70 dBA at all times.
The construction exemption ends at 8:00 p.m., an hour before the 9:00 p.m. change in the table and an hour before the 9:00 p.m. end of the lawn and household power tool exemption in § 131-2B(3). Utility repair or installation sits in the same exemption as construction of structures, sidewalks and streets, so all of that work shares the 7:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. window. Each day of a continuing violation is a separate offense.
Violations & Fines
Under § 131-3, a violation is prosecuted before a Magisterial District Judge as a summary offense. Conviction carries a fine of not more than $1,000 or imprisonment not exceeding 90 days. Each day or portion of a day that a violation continues is a separate offense, and each section of Chapter 131 violated is also a separate offense, so a crew working past the exempt hours can be charged day by day.
Frequently Asked Questions
What hours can construction run in Lower Paxton Township?
Can emergency repairs run after 8:00 p.m.?
What is the noise limit when construction is outside the exempt hours?
How is a construction noise violation penalized?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Lower Paxton
How Lower Paxton compares: Cities with the Strictest Construction Hours·Compare Lower Paxton to another location·View the Pennsylvania noise ordinances overview
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