St. Martin Parish, LA Noise Ordinances: Construction Hours (2026)

Sec. 26-39(5) of the parish noise article bars construction and demolition activities, excluding emergency work, from 10:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m. on weekdays and from 10:00 p.m. to 8:00 a.m. on weekends and federal holidays. It also requires that all motorized equipment used in construction and demolition activities be operated with a muffler. The section opens by saying these standards apply notwithstanding the general sound limits of Sec. 26-37.

The weekday and weekend labels are defined terms in Sec. 26-34, and the definitions shift the clock. A weekday begins on Sunday at 8:00 p.m. and ends the following Friday at 6:00 p.m. A weekend begins on Friday at 6:00 p.m. and ends the following Sunday at 8:00 p.m. Under those printed definitions, work after 10:00 p.m. on a Friday night falls in the weekend window that runs to 8:00 a.m., while work after 10:00 p.m. on a Sunday night falls in the weekday window that ends at 6:00 a.m. Monday.

Two escape valves exist in the article. Emergency work is carved out of the construction rule itself and is also listed in Sec. 26-38(4) among the noise sources that the article's performance standards do not reach. Events and activities operating within the time and volume parameters of a variance issued by the St. Martin Parish Council are exempt under Sec. 26-38(10).

The article applies to sound originating from or received by property in the unincorporated areas of St. Martin Parish, regardless of the zoning classification of the property, under Sec. 26-36. Construction crews working inside the limits of St. Martinville, Breaux Bridge, Henderson or Parks answer to those municipalities, not to this article.