Mason County, WA Noise Ordinances: Quiet Hours (2026)
Quiet hours in Mason County, WA, also called the noise ordinance, nighttime noise rules, or residential quiet time, define the hours during which excessive noise is prohibited.
Key Facts
- Exempt window
- 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily
- Governing section
- Mason County Code Section 9.36.080
- Covered activities
- Home repair, firearms, aircraft testing, utility work, blasting
- After 10 p.m.
- Standard Section 9.36.060 dBA caps apply
- Enforcing agency
- Mason County Sheriff's Office
Summary
Unincorporated Mason County does not shut off noise at a set clock hour, but Code Section 9.36.080 grants a narrow exemption only between seven a.m. and ten p.m. for specific activities: home repair and yard work, firearms discharge, aircraft engine testing, utility installation or repair, and blasting. Outside that window those same sounds lose the exemption and fall under the standard Section 9.36.060 decibel caps.
9.36.080 - Daytime exemption. The following shall be exempt from the provisions of this chapter between the hours of seven a.m. and ten p.m.: (1)Sounds originating from residential property relating to temporary projects for the maintenance or repair of homes, grounds and appurtenances;(2)Subject to Ord. 438 Subsection 2, 1975 (Fire Arms), sounds created by the discharge of firearms;(3)Sounds created by aircraft engine testing and maintenance not related to flight operations; provided, that aircraft testing and maintenance shall be conducted at remote sites whenever possible;(4)Sounds created by the installation or repair of essential utility services;(5)Sounds created by blasting.
Full Breakdown
Section 9.36.080 of the Noise Control chapter (Chapter 9.36, adopted by Ordinance 54-89 in 1989) is titled 'Daytime exemption' and lists five categories of sound that are excused from the chapter's general provisions only between seven a.m. and ten p.m.: temporary maintenance or repair projects on residential property and its grounds and appurtenances; discharge of firearms (subject to Ordinance 438, Section 2, 1975); aircraft engine testing and maintenance not related to flight operations, which the code directs be conducted at remote sites whenever possible; installation or repair of essential utility services; and blasting.
Because the exemption is time-boxed, any of those five activities occurring before 7 a.m. or after 10 p.m. is not excused and must instead meet the maximum permissible sound levels set by the EDNA table in Section 9.36.060, which caps residential-to-residential (Class A to Class A) sound at 55 dBA. Section 9.36.110's proviso makes clear that even a daytime activity within this exemption is not shielded from prosecution as a public disturbance noise under Section 9.36.120 if it unreasonably disturbs neighbors. The findings in Section 9.36.020 direct the sheriff's office to administer the noise chapter on a 24-hour basis.
Violations & Fines
A blasting, firearms, utility-repair or home-maintenance sound that runs past the 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. window and exceeds the Section 9.36.060 decibel table draws the same civil penalty schedule under Section 9.36.310: thirty dollars for a first violation, one hundred dollars for a second, and two hundred fifty dollars for a third and each later violation within one year, with a misdemeanor available under Section 9.36.320 for refusing a deputy's order to stop or abate the noise.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is there a general nighttime noise curfew in unincorporated Mason County?
Can I run a chainsaw or generator for home repairs at midnight?
What happens if daytime blasting still disturbs neighbors?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Mason County
How Mason County compares: Cities with the Strictest Noise Ordinances·Compare Mason County to another location·View the Washington noise ordinances overview
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