Nashua, NH Noise Ordinances: Construction Hours (2026)

Chapter 128 (Construction and Demolition Work) of Part II of the Nashua Revised Ordinances sets the city's primary construction-noise regime. The operative rule prohibits construction or demolition by any person in any residential zone (as defined in Chapter 190, Land Use Code) - and equally importantly within 600 feet of any dwelling unit anywhere in the city - between the hours of 8:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m. on Sunday through Friday, and between 7:00 p.m. Saturday and 8:00 a.m. Sunday and holidays. The 600-foot dwelling buffer is unusually broad - because Nashua's commercial corridors (Main Street, Daniel Webster Highway / Route 3, Amherst Street, Broad Street, the Pheasant Lane Mall edge along the Massachusetts border) sit adjacent to mature residential blocks, most active construction zones citywide fall within 600 feet of at least one dwelling. The practical residential construction window is therefore 7:00 a.m. - 8:00 p.m. Monday through Friday, 7:00 a.m. - 7:00 p.m. Saturday, and no construction at all on Sundays and holidays in residential zones or within the 600-foot dwelling buffer. Exemptions: (1) work deemed emergency work by the Director of the Code Enforcement Department; (2) work authorized by the Director of Public Works (this covers DPW and franchised utility work in the right-of-way, plus storm-response and water/sewer emergency repairs). The Nashua Police Department has primary enforcement responsibility; the Director of the Code Enforcement Department and the Zoning Administrator also have authority to enforce these sections, allowing weekday-business-hours enforcement of patterns at active construction sites. Chapter 128 cross-references Chapter 201 (Noise) - so even within the permitted 7 a.m. - 8 p.m. Monday-Friday window, construction noise that becomes 'unreasonable or excessive' under Chapter 201 (or that constitutes loud or unreasonable noise disturbing average sensibilities under NH RSA 644:2 disorderly conduct) remains citable. Active Nashua development - the Performance Café / Pearl Street redevelopment, the downtown riverfront / Mill Yard sites, large-scale residential infill along Amherst Street and East Hollis Street, school construction administered by the Nashua School District, and Route 3 (F.E. Everett Turnpike) corridor work administered by NH DOT - all operate within Chapter 128's window or under specifically negotiated permit conditions. NH DOT highway work in the Turnpike corridor is subject to state-agency noise mitigation but not directly to Chapter 128. Building permits are administered by the Nashua Code Enforcement Department under the State Building Code (RSA 155-A) and city-adopted codes including Chapter 105 (Building Construction) and Chapter 138 (Mechanical Code).