Council reviews construction-hour rules and seeks stronger enforcement

Chris Smith, the city’s code compliance manager, briefed the City Council on Aug. 5 about McKinney’s construction-hour rules and enforcement process. McKinney currently allows construction Monday–Friday from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m., Saturday 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Sunday 1 p.m. to 5 p.m., for a total of 88 allowable hours per week.

Smith said the police department received 35 verified after-hours construction complaints between Jan. 1 and June 30; none of those resulted in fines under the prior ad hoc process because complaints routed through police were not always documented through completion by code services. He described a new interdepartmental process in which police will report after-hours complaints to code compliance the next business day, allowing code compliance to open cases, track violations through to compliance and identify repeat offenders.

Smith presented possible ordinance amendments — for example, moving the weekday start time from 6 a.m. to 7 a.m., which would reduce allowable weekly construction hours by five — and compared McKinney’s schedule with nearby cities. Council members generally expressed support for stronger enforcement and for increasing fines where permitted by state law. Chief Navarro and city attorneys noted state law puts limits on fine amounts but that enhanced penalties for repeat offenses and civil remedies (including injunctive relief) are available. Cody from erosion-control staff reported a pending budget request to set fee levels (he proposed $500 for residential after-hours work and $1,500 for commercial) and said the department is prepared to shut down noncompliant sites for 24–48 hours when repeated noncompliance occurs.

No ordinance change was adopted at the work session. Councilmembers directed staff to continue refining the enforcement process, to report better data on complaint volumes and outcomes, and to bring ordinance/fine options consistent with state law for future council consideration.