Olympia, WA Noise Ordinances: Construction Hours (2026)
Construction hours in Olympia, WA, sometimes called construction noise rules or contractor work-hour ordinances, set when contractors can run power tools, hammers, and heavy equipment.
Key Facts
- Construction activity hours
- Between 7:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m.
- What the hour limit governs
- Temporary vibration from construction activity
- Applies to
- New construction, grading, additions, and large modifications
- Noise levels
- Set separately by Table N in OMC 18.40.080(B)
- Governing section
- OMC 18.40.080(C)(7)
Summary
In the City of Olympia, Washington, OMC 18.40.080(C)(7) exempts the temporary vibration produced by construction activity from the earth-vibration ban, but restricts that temporary construction activity to the hours between 7:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m. The hour limit sits in the vibration standard; noise levels are set separately in Table N of the same section.
7. No use shall cause earth vibrations or concussions detectable without the aid of instruments beyond its lot lines, with the exception of the temporary vibration produced as a result of construction activity. Such temporary construction activity shall be restricted to the hours between 7:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m.
Full Breakdown
The only construction hour limit in the land use code of the City of Olympia sits in the vibration standard of OMC 18.40.080(C)(7). The first sentence bars any use from causing earth vibrations or concussions detectable without the aid of instruments beyond its lot lines, with the exception of the temporary vibration produced as a result of construction activity. The second sentence sets the condition: such temporary construction activity shall be restricted to the hours between 7:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m. Construction inside that window gets the exception; construction outside it does not.
The section is one of the Protection Standards of Chapter 18.40. Under OMC 18.40.040, they apply to all new construction, grading, additions and modifications to an existing structure in excess of 25 percent of the structure floor area. OMC 18.40.080(A) puts the burden on the operator or proprietor to provide the reasonable evidence and technical data the enforcing officer requires to show the activity complies.
The sound produced by construction is a different question from vibration. Subsection (B) of the same section incorporates WAC Chapter 173-60 and sets Table N levels by EDNA class: Class A for living areas, Class B for other commercial areas and Class C for industrial areas. Table N prints residential-source levels for 7 a.m.-10 p.m. and 10 p.m.-7 a.m., with footnote *** applying the lower residential levels on all hours of weekends and holidays. Subsection (B) contains no separate construction clause, so noise from a project that works inside 7:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. is measured against Table N like any other sound source.
Violations & Fines
Construction outside 7:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. falls outside the exception to the vibration ban, and Title 18 violations carry the penalties in OMC 18.73.010: a knowing violation is a misdemeanor with a fine not to exceed $1,000 and imprisonment not to exceed 90 days, and a concurrent civil infraction costs Class 3 ($50), Class 2 ($125), then Class 1 ($250), each day separate. The enforcing officer can require testing, charged to a violating operator under OMC 18.40.100.
Frequently Asked Questions
What hours can construction happen in Olympia?
Does this section set a construction noise decibel limit?
Who proves a project is in compliance?
Do weekends change the construction hours?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Olympia
How Olympia compares: Cities with the Strictest Construction Hours·Compare Olympia to another location·View the Washington noise ordinances overview
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