Walla Walla County, WA Noise Ordinances: Construction Hours (2026)
Construction hours in Walla Walla County, WA, sometimes called construction noise rules or contractor work-hour ordinances, set when contractors can run power tools, hammers, and heavy equipment.
Key Facts
- Weekday construction window
- 5am-10pm
- Weekend/holiday window
- 5am-11pm
- Covers
- Construction equipment, special vehicles
- Outside window
- Exemption lost, infraction risk
- Penalty
- Up to $500 civil infraction
- Enforcement
- Walla Walla County Sheriff's Office
Summary
Walla Walla County Code § 9.20.070(E) exempts construction equipment and temporary construction-site sounds from the noise chapter between 5 a.m. and 10 p.m. on weekdays and 5 a.m. and 11 p.m. on weekends, meaning construction noise outside those windows loses its exemption and can be cited as a public disturbance noise.
The following sounds are exempt from the provisions of this chapter between the hours of five a.m. and ten p.m. on weekdays and between the hours of five a.m. and eleven p.m. on weekends: ... E.Sounds created by construction equipment, including special construction vehicles, and emanating from temporary construction sites, if the receiving property is located in a residential district of the city;
Full Breakdown
Section 9.20.070 lists 'sounds exempt during daytime hours,' setting the window as 'between the hours of five a.m. and ten p.m. on weekdays and between the hours of five a.m. and eleven p.m. on weekends.' Subsection E places construction inside that window: 'Sounds created by construction equipment, including special construction vehicles, and emanating from temporary construction sites, if the receiving property is located in a residential district of the city.' The chapter defines 'special construction vehicle' in § 9.20.010(L) as one 'designed and used primarily for grading, paving, earth-moving, and other construction work' that is only incidentally driven on the highway, covering excavators, graders and similar heavy equipment as well as ordinary power tools.
Because the exemption is time-limited, construction noise that continues after 10 p.m. on a weekday, after 11 p.m. on a weekend, or before 5 a.m. any day, loses its exempt status and must instead comply with the general district sound-level table in § 9.20.030 and the public disturbance noise list in § 9.20.050, making a nighttime jobsite an infraction risk. Subsection H of the same section separately exempts lawn mowers, powered hand tools, snow removal equipment and composters used on residential property during the same daytime window. The Sheriff's Office enforces under § 9.20.090, and § 9.20.100 sets the penalty for any violation at up to $500 per separate infraction.
Violations & Fines
Construction noise that runs outside the exempt window in § 9.20.070, before 5 a.m. or after 10 p.m. on a weekday, or after 11 p.m. on a weekend, loses its exemption and can be cited as a public disturbance noise under § 9.20.050, a civil infraction carrying a monetary penalty up to $500 per separate infraction under § 9.20.100, with each day of after-hours work chargeable separately.
Frequently Asked Questions
What hours can a contractor run heavy equipment in unincorporated Walla Walla County?
Does the construction exemption cover lawn equipment too?
What happens if a job site runs past the exempt hours?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Walla Walla County
How Walla Walla County compares: Cities with the Strictest Construction Hours·Compare Walla Walla County to another location·View the Washington noise ordinances overview
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