Butte County, CA Noise Ordinances: Construction Hours (2026)

Section 41A-9 of the Noise Control Ordinance exempts most construction noise from the county's exterior and interior decibel standards, but only during the daytime and evening hours the same section defines. Subsection (f) covers "noise sources associated with construction, repair, remodeling, demolition, paving or grading of any real property or public works project located within one thousand (1,000) feet of residential uses," and the exemption does not apply, meaning the underlying decibel standards of Sec. 41A-7 (exterior) and Sec. m. The section carves out one narrow field exception: if an unforeseen or unavoidable condition arises mid-project and a specific phase must be finished, the contractor or owner may keep operating machinery into the blocked hours to complete that phase without jeopardizing inspection acceptance, avoiding undue financial hardship in the process.

Enforcement runs through Sec. 41A-18: the Department of Development Services acts on a received complaint, investigates whether measured dBA levels exceed the applicable standard during the barred hours, and if a violation is found, serves written notice specifying the section violated, the readings taken, and the time and place of detection, with an order to correct within a set deadline.