Pender County, NC Noise Ordinances: Construction Hours (2026)

The curfew sits in Article III of the noise ordinance the Board of Commissioners readopted November 18, 2024 under authority of G.S. 153A-133. Section 24-44(8) lists construction or demolition activity among eight 'specific prohibitions' that make up excessive noise, barring it whenever it is plainly audible within an affected property or through a shared partition between two dwelling units during the window running from 7:00 p.m. or sunset, whichever is later, to 7:00 a.m. Section 24-43 defines 'plainly audible' as detectable by a person's unaided hearing, without needing to identify a specific word or song, and defines 'affected property' to include permanent or temporary residences, hospitals, skilled nursing facilities, motels, tents and occupied recreational vehicles.

Section 24-45 exempts agricultural and farming equipment operated with the manufacturer's standard mufflers in place, and emergency work performed during a declared state of emergency or other life-safety incident, including generator use and heavy machinery. Under Section 24-42 the article covers the whole county, including any town that has not adopted its own noise ordinance; a town with its own ordinance controls inside its limits instead. The Sheriff's Office carries primary enforcement responsibility under Section 24-46.