Manteca, CA Noise Ordinances: Construction Hours (2026)

Section 9.52.040(K) lists construction equipment among the specific prohibited noises. The window runs from eight p.m. to seven a.m., and the test is audibility: the equipment must be sufficiently loud as to be plainly audible at the property line of the property from which the sound is emanating. The subsection prints no decibel figure, so what an officer can hear standing at the boundary is the measure.

Section 9.52.020 defines "construction" as any site preparation, assembly, erection, substantial repair, alteration or similar action on public or private property. The definition reaches site preparation and substantial repair alike, on city land as well as private lots. The chapter also defines "weekday" as Monday through Friday excluding legal holidays, but subsection K does not use that term and prints no weekend or holiday distinction.

Other subsections of § 9.52.040 cover the late-night hours on a different clock. Subsection D bars sustained, continuous or repeated operation of any motor, engine or mechanical device between ten p.m. and eight a.m. unless it is enclosed in a sound insulated structure, and subsection F bars noisy loading, unloading and handling of building materials between ten p.m. and eight a.m. Section 9.52.030 adds a general standard against unnecessary and unreasonable noises that are physically annoying to reasonable persons of ordinary sensitivity, and that standard is not tied to a particular hour.

Section 9.52.070 exempts several activities from the chapter. Emergency work and the sound of alerting people to an emergency are exempt. So are public health and safety activities, including transportation, flood control and utility company maintenance and construction operation at any time on public rights-of-way and public property, although the regular testing of motorized equipment and pumps is expressly not exempt. Emergency generators run during power outages to restore electrical service are exempt as well. A private contractor working on a house or a commercial pad is not covered by those exemptions unless the work is itself emergency work.