Yakima, WA Noise Ordinances: Construction Hours (2026)

Yakima does not set construction hours with a stand-alone curfew. The hours come from YMC § 6.04.180(F), the list of sounds carved out of the city's public disturbance noise ordinance. Item 15 on that list covers "sounds created by construction or lawn and garden equipment," and it is the only item in the quoted part of the list with a clock attached.

The exemption has two windows. On weekdays it runs from six a.m. to ten p.m. On Sundays and legal holidays it runs from eight a.m. to ten p.m. The evening end is the same in both, so the only difference is the morning start, which comes two hours later on Sundays and legal holidays. Because item 15 puts construction and lawn and garden equipment in one clause, a contractor's machinery and a resident's mower share the same Yakima hours.

Working outside those hours is not defined as an offense by item 15 itself. What happens is that the sound loses its exemption. It is then judged like any other sound under YMC § 6.04.180(C): if it is loud enough to unreasonably disturb the peace, comfort and repose of others, it can be prosecuted as public disturbance noise. The Yakima Police Department or the office of code administration enforces the ordinance.

The neighboring items show how Yakima treats other sources. Item 16 exempts sounds created by lawfully established commercial and industrial uses. Item 17 exempts sounds from regularly scheduled events at parks, such as public address systems for baseball games or park concerts. Item 18 exempts sounds permitted under noise and parade permits, and subsection G of § 6.04.180 addresses the noise permit and parade permit as exceptions. None of those three items carries the time limits that item 15 places on construction.