Medford, OR Noise Ordinances: Construction Hours (2026)
Construction hours in Medford, OR, sometimes called construction noise rules or contractor work-hour ordinances, set when contractors can run power tools, hammers, and heavy equipment.
Key Facts
- Allowed hours
- 7:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.
- Restricted hours
- 6:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m.
- Exception authority
- City Manager or designee
- Penalty
- Separate violation each day
- Governing section
- Medford Code 5.225(1)(e)
Summary
Medford bars alteration, demolition, erection, or repair of any structure between 6:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m. as unlawful noise under City Code 5.225(1)(e). The City Manager can grant an exception if the public interest requires it or no one nearby would be disturbed.
(e) Alteration, demolition, erection, or repair of any structure between the hours of 6:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m. The City Manager or his designee may grant an exception to a person from this subsection if the manager or his designee determines that the public interest requires it or that there are no persons in the area who would be disturbed by the work.
Official source re-checked September 8, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: current through Ordinance 2026-32, passed May 6, 2026).
Full Breakdown
225(1) makes it unlawful to make, continue, cause, or permit a noise disturbance, and lists construction work as one of several enumerated violations that are not exclusive of others. , seven days a week, with no separate weekend carve-out in the text. 225(1)(d)), so a construction site running heavy equipment overnight risks stacking violations. 225(1)(e) if the manager determines the public interest requires it or that no one in the area would be disturbed by the work. The ordinance also declares in subsection (2) that its noise regulations are drafted to be content-neutral so as not to infringe on constitutionally protected expression, and subsection (3) defines "plainly audible" for the sound-equipment provisions elsewhere in the section.
Violations & Fines
Violating the construction-hours limit under 5.225(1)(e) is a Class violation under Medford Code 5.225(4). Each day a noise disturbance is made, continued, caused, or permitted to continue counts as a separate violation, so overnight work spanning multiple nights can generate multiple citations rather than one continuing offense.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can a Medford contractor ever work past 6 p.m.?
Does the construction-hours rule cover power tools too?
What happens if a crew works all night on a Medford job site?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Medford
How Medford compares: Cities with the Strictest Construction Hours·Compare Medford to another location·View the Oregon noise ordinances overview
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