San Benito County, CA Noise Ordinances: Construction Hours (2026)

San Benito County's Resource Management Agency / Building Inspection Services publishes the construction-hours rule on its official building inspection page. It defines 'Hours of Construction' as 'during the day mainly during the hours of 7:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. Monday - Saturday no Sundays or National Holidays,' and directs readers to 'See SBCC 19.39.010 for times.' That ties the construction window to Chapter 19.39 (Noise Control Regulations); Section 19.39.010 is the operative provision for permitted hours, while Section 19.39.020 supplies the general prohibition on noise disturbances and Section 19.39.030 the maximum permissible sound pressure levels. In practice, powered construction equipment, framing, grading, and similar activity is permitted on weekdays and Saturdays from 7:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m., but not on Sundays or recognized National Holidays. Construction noise outside those hours can be cited as a noise disturbance under Section 19.39.020 and may also violate conditions on a building, grading, or use permit. Larger or discretionary projects frequently carry tighter, project-specific hours imposed through the planning entitlement and CEQA review, which override the default window. Emergency work - utility restoration after storms on Highway 25 or 156, water and sewer emergencies, and similar urgent repairs - is generally allowed outside normal hours. The County rule applies only in unincorporated communities (Tres Pinos, Paicines, Ridgemark, Aromas, Cienega, Panoche, Bitterwater, and the Pinnacles vicinity). Hollister and San Juan Bautista set their own construction hours; the City of Hollister updated its construction and landscaping-maintenance noise restrictions through its municipal code, so projects inside city limits follow the city schedule.