Ocala, FL Noise Ordinances: Construction Hours (2026)

City Code § 34-174 lists the activities the city excuses from the citywide excessive-noise ban in § 34-173. Item (10) exempts 'the conduct of any permitted construction activities between sunrise and sunset,' which means a contractor working under a valid city permit during daylight hours is not, by that fact alone, in violation of the noise ordinance, even if the work is audible beyond the property line. Construction that continues after sunset or begins before sunrise loses that exemption and is measured against the general 'excessive noise' definitions in § 34-172, most likely the nonresidential noise standard (audible 100 feet away from 6:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m., or 50 feet from 10:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m.) or the residential standards if the site sits in a residential area.

'Sunrise' and 'sunset' are defined in § 34-172 as the times published for that day in the Ocala Star-Banner, not a fixed clock time, so the permitted window moves with the season. A separate exemption in § 34-174(9) covers road or utility construction and maintenance performed by or for a government entity or utility, and that exemption carries no sunrise-to-sunset limit, unlike the general permitted-construction exemption in item (10). Violations of the general noise prohibition, once the construction exemption no longer applies, are punished under City Code § 1-9 and enforced by Ocala Police Department officers responding to complaints.