Doraville council consolidates construction noise rules, keeps city‑manager exception

Doraville’s City Council on March 18 adopted text amendment A‑26‑1 to remove a duplicated code section and consolidate construction and demolition noise rules into section 10‑65. The change carries forward the construction hours established in a 2023 amendment and preserves an exception that allows the city manager to authorize work outside those hours for specific projects.

Community development staff told the council MUN Code still contained a now‑duplicated section 10‑3 and that the amendment simply moves the operative rules into 10‑65 to avoid confusion. “We want to make sure that MUN Code does clean this up accordingly,” the presenter said. The staff summary explained the code previously set weekday construction hours and that a 2023 revision shortened allowable hours in response to resident complaints.

Under the ordinance carried forward in A‑26‑1, construction activity hours were described to council as 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. on weekdays and 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. on weekends and holidays; staff said those time windows match the intent of the 2023 amendment. The staff presentation also noted the city‑manager exception that has been used on a temporary basis for large pours and continuous concrete work on major projects.

Several council members said the cleanup was appropriate but asked staff to confirm how exceptions are administered. Council Member Henshaw, whose home is near the high‑school construction site, said crews occasionally work at night for substantial pours and that the exceptions appear to be used for major school and infrastructure projects. “They do operate outside of these hours occasionally,” Henshaw said; she added that the work is noisy but not continuous and that the proposed language is a useful clarification.

During the public hearing, residents raised separate but related neighborhood concerns. Tom Hart of Gordon Heights described repeated heavy‑truck traffic and construction noise that he said shakes his house and disrupts sleep; Hart also criticized broader city management decisions during public comment. Ben Crawford of Oakliff Estates urged the city to address tanker and semi traffic on Oakliff Road and recommended physical measures to slow large vehicles.

The council moved to waive first reading and adopt A‑26‑1. A roll call vote recorded approval from Council Members Ray, Simmons, Nasser, Henshaw, Evans and Armistad; the motion passed.

Next steps: staff said it will coordinate with the city clerk to ensure MUN Code removes references to the obsolete section and that cross‑references (sections 4‑30 and 12‑40) are updated to point to 10‑65.