Construction hours in Orange County, CA — sometimes called construction noise rules or contractor work-hour ordinances — set when contractors can run power tools, hammers, and heavy equipment.
In unincorporated Orange County, construction, repair, remodeling, and grading are exempt from the noise limits only if they do NOT take place between 8:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m. on weekdays including Saturday, or at any time on Sunday or a Federal holiday, under Codified Ordinances Section 4-6-7(e).
The County's Noise Control ordinance contains a specific construction carve-out. Section 4-6-7(e) of the Codified Ordinances (Title 4, Division 6) exempts 'noise sources associated with construction, repair, remodeling, or grading of any real property' from the general exterior and interior noise standards, but only on the condition that 'said activities do not take place between the hours of 8:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m. on weekdays, including Saturday, or at any time on Sunday or a Federal holiday.' In practical terms, construction noise is permitted Monday through Saturday from 7:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m., and is prohibited overnight (8 p.m. to 7 a.m.) as well as for the entire day on Sundays and Federal holidays. Work that falls outside the allowed window loses the exemption and must comply with the underlying residential noise limits in Section 4-6-5 (55 dB(A) day / 50 dB(A) night) or constitutes a noise violation. A separate provision, Section 4-6-7(i), allows ordinary property maintenance noise between 7:00 a.m. and 8:00 p.m. except Sunday and Federal holidays, when it is allowed only from 9:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m.
Construction noise outside the permitted hours loses its exemption and is treated as a misdemeanor noise violation under Section 4-6-15, with each day a separate offense.
Other ordinances people look up for this city. Green dot = verified primary-source excerpt.
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