San Benito County, CA Noise Ordinances: Construction Hours (2026)
Construction hours in San Benito County, CA, sometimes called construction noise rules or contractor work-hour ordinances, set when contractors can run power tools, hammers, and heavy equipment.
Key Facts
- Exempt hours
- 7:00 a.m.-7:00 p.m.
- No exemption
- Sundays, federal holidays
- Applies to
- unincorporated San Benito County only
- Enforcing rule
- Ch. 19.39 Noise Control Regulations
Summary
Unincorporated San Benito County exempts construction, demolition, and maintenance noise from its sound limits only from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., except Sundays and federal holidays.
The following activities shall be exempt from the provisions of this chapter: ... (H) Temporary construction, demolition or maintenance of structures between the hours of 7:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m., except Sundays and federal holidays;
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: 2025 S-28: current through Ordinance 1078).
Full Breakdown
The county's noise control chapter bars unreasonable noise disturbances and sets maximum sound pressure levels by land-use category, but carves out an exemption for temporary construction, demolition, or maintenance activity. That exemption runs 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. daily, except Sundays and federal holidays, when it does not apply at all, meaning construction noise on those days, or outside those hours, is not exempt and falls back under the chapter's general noise-disturbance and sound-level rules. This applies only in the unincorporated county; Hollister and San Juan Bautista set their own construction-hour rules.
Violations & Fines
Construction, demolition, or maintenance noise outside 7 a.m.-7 p.m., or on Sundays or federal holidays, loses the exemption and is subject to the chapter's noise-disturbance prohibition and sound-level limits, enforceable by County code enforcement.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can contractors run equipment on Sunday in unincorporated San Benito County?
Does this rule apply inside Hollister?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in San Benito County
How San Benito County compares: Cities with the Strictest Construction Hours·California rules heatmap·Compare San Benito County to another location·View the California noise ordinances overview
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