Medford, MA Noise Ordinances: Construction Hours (2026)

Section 38-34(a), 'Operation of plant or machinery; performance of certain work,' opens the noise section of Article II, Nuisances, in Chapter 38, Environment, and traces back to the 1974 Revised Ordinances, chapter 23, section 29. The prohibition covers two separate activities in identical language: performing work that is excessively noisy and disturbing to the reasonable peace and quiet of the proximate neighborhood, and operating a plant or machinery that is excessively noisy and disturbing in the same way, each banned outside the window of 7:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. unless a permit has first been obtained from the chief of police.

The standard is not a decibel number; it turns on whether the work or machinery is 'excessively noisy and disturbing to the reasonable peace and quiet' of the surrounding neighborhood, a judgment call the chief of police makes when deciding whether to issue a permit for work outside the standard hours. In making that call, the chief must weigh the emergency of the occasion and the reasonable necessity of the work, considering that emergency, before allowing operation after the set hours. A single permit is not limited to one day: the section allows the chief to issue a permit covering either a single day or a period of multiple days, giving contractors a path to run an extended job past the normal 7:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. window when justified.