San Diego County Construction Hours Rules (2026) — What You Need to Know

Section 36.408 of the San Diego County Code of Regulatory Ordinances makes it unlawful for any person to operate or cause construction equipment to be operated between 7:00 PM and 7:00 AM, except for emergency work. Construction equipment is also prohibited on Sundays and on six designated holidays: January 1st, the last Monday in May, July 4th, the first Monday in September, the fourth Thursday in November, and December 25th.

A limited exception exists for homeowners: a person may operate construction equipment on a Sunday or holiday between 10:00 AM and 5:00 PM at their own residence, or for the purpose of constructing a residence for themselves, provided the work is not performed for financial consideration and does not violate the decibel limits in Sections 36.409 and 36.410.

Section 36.409 establishes the sound level limitation on construction equipment. Except for emergency work, it is unlawful to operate construction equipment that exceeds an average sound level of 75 dBA for an eight-hour period between 7:00 AM and 7:00 PM, as measured at the boundary line of the property where the noise source is located or on any occupied property receiving the noise. This is a time-weighted average, meaning brief spikes above 75 dBA are permissible as long as the overall 8-hour average remains at or below that threshold.