Vallejo, CA Noise Ordinances: Construction Hours (2026)

Vallejo's noise performance standards sit in Chapter 16.502, and Section 16.502.09(D) folds construction into the same hours-based framework that governs the rest of the chapter's exterior noise limits. Subsection (D)(1) is direct: construction, demolition, and related loading and unloading activities that may generate noise exceeding the levels in Table 16.502-E are limited to hours between 7:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m. in residential zoning districts and in any mixed-use district. The section also lets the city tighten those hours further: conditions attached to a conditional use permit or variance control, and the most restrictive hours apply when they conflict with the base rule.

Table 16.502-E sets the numeric ceiling that triggers the hours restriction, splitting mobile equipment (non-scheduled, intermittent gear running under 15 days) from stationary equipment. Mobile equipment on weekdays from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. tops out at 75 dBA in low-density residential zones, 80 dBA in higher-density residential and mixed-use/neighborhood-commercial zones, and 85 dBA in commercial and industrial zones; those caps drop to 60, 65, and 70 dBA on Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Stationary equipment is held to the lower 60/65/70 dBA band on both weekdays and Saturdays. Sundays and legal holidays get a flat 'None' in every zone and for both equipment types, meaning the table authorizes no elevated construction noise those days at all.

Not every noisy job falls under this framework. Section 16.502.09(B)(7) exempts public works construction, maintenance, and repair work undertaken by or under contract to the city, the State of California, or a utility regulated by the California Public Utilities Commission, covering things like street sweeping, sewer and water main repair, and traffic signal work, even when it runs outside the 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. window.