Yakima, WA Noise Ordinances: Construction Hours (2026)

Unlike many Washington cities (Seattle, Tacoma, Bellevue) that codify a specific construction-hours window, the City of Yakima has not adopted a clock-time start / end for construction noise in YMC Chapter 6.04 (Offenses Against Public Order and Peace), YMC Title 11 (Buildings and Construction), or YMC Title 15 (Yakima Urban Area Zoning Ordinance). Three overlapping frameworks govern: (1) YMC 6.04 public-disturbance-noise standard - construction sound that by its intensity, volume, frequency, duration or character unreasonably disturbs the peace, comfort and repose of others is unlawful regardless of clock time. (2) WAC 173-60-050(4) - the Washington State Department of Ecology exempts sounds originating from temporary construction sites as a result of construction activity from the WAC 173-60 environmental noise levels, except between 10:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m. when affecting Class A (residential) receiving property. In practical terms, daytime construction (7 a.m. - 10 p.m.) at virtually any volume is shielded from the state caps; nighttime construction near residential parcels is the enforcement flashpoint. (3) YMC 6.04.180 - the Office of Code Administration may issue a regulatory permit allowing construction noise that would otherwise be prohibited, where denial would create undue hardship and the permit would not create undue hardship on others. Major active construction in Yakima typically follows the standard daytime window; the Cascade Mill District redevelopment (the former Boise Cascade site, ~225 acres east of downtown), the East-West Corridor project, and routine residential / commercial work along North 1st Street, Yakima Avenue, and the West Valley operate under the daytime exemption. Washington State Department of Transportation and franchise utility work in the public right-of-way operates under state and federal noise-abatement criteria rather than YMC 6.04. Building permits and inspections are administered by the City of Yakima Office of Code Administration (Building Division, 509-576-6657) under YMC Title 11 (which incorporates the 2021 International Property Maintenance Code at YMC Chapter 11.40).