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Council considers tighter noise rules and daytime construction limits after resident complaints of 101 dB vibration
Summary
Staff proposed edits to the city noise ordinance to address daytime construction and loud landscaping equipment; a resident reported backyard readings up to 101 decibels and urged limits on equipment and hours. Council favored an earlier evening cutoff (around 8 p.m.) than the current 10 p.m. daytime end-of-day definition.
City staff told the Georgetown City Council at the Oct. 27 workshop that a surge of recent complaints about daytime construction noise, heavy equipment and landscaping prompted a review of the noise ordinance (Chapter 8.16).
Current standards and proposed change
Staff said the current code sets daytime residential limits at 63 decibels and nighttime at 56 decibels, and that daytime and nighttime are defined in the ordinance as 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. and 10 p.m. to 7 a.m. respectively. Staff noted state law (Chapter 42 of the Texas Penal Code) treats noise above 85 decibels as "unreasonable."
Because daytime construction and landscaping commonly register above the city's current daytime limit but below the state's 85-decibel threshold, staff proposed clarifying exemptions and adding targeted allowances for reasonable daytime construction and landscaping equipment, and asked council to set a reasonable cutoff hour for allowed daytime work.
Resident testimony and measurements
Ruth Lehi, a Williams Drive resident, told council that work at a nearby development began around 7 a.m. and sometimes slightly earlier. Lehi said heavy equipment has been operating close to her backyard, producing strong vibrations and noise that she measured at up to 101 decibels outdoors and 65 decibels inside her home. She said the vibration caused picture frames, windows and the house to move and reported headaches and difficulty homeschooling because of the disturbance. "The heavy machinery I have witnessed being used included excavators and land compactors," she told council.
Council response
Council members discussed whether the planning department's standard pre-construction guidance (7 a.m. to 6 p.m.) should be aligned with the noise ordinance. Several council members said they preferred limiting private-construction work to 8 p.m. rather than the existing ordinance's 10 p.m., with one councilor saying 6 p.m. would be early and 10 p.m. too late. Staff told council the city cannot ban gas-powered lawn equipment under state law and that any rule must avoid conflicting with state-mandated standards.
Next steps
Staff will draft noise-ordinance amendments that narrow the daytime/construction exemption, propose practical hour limits (council favored about 8 p.m. as a middle ground), and clarify enforcement thresholds so officers can measure and act within state law limits. Staff emphasized the UDC advisory committee and staff monitoring will reassess the ordinance after implementation to see whether adjustments are needed.
