Las Cruces weighs 6 a.m. summer construction starts after complaints about early work
Las Cruces City Council will consider allowing construction to begin at 6 a.m. and continue until 8 p.m. during summer months.
A proposed ordinance would expand the permitted summer workday from 11 to 14 hours while creating new enforcement standards.
Damien Willis, Organ Mountain News
LAS CRUCES - Construction crews could legally begin work at 6 a.m. and continue until 8 p.m. during summer under an ordinance the Las Cruces City Council will consider Tuesday.
The proposal comes after city staff and LCPD Codes received complaints about construction beginning before the currently permitted 7 a.m. start time, particularly in areas with active residential development.
Council Bill 27-007, also identified as Ordinance 3123, would replace the city’s year-round construction schedule with separate summer and winter hours.
The City Council meets at 1 p.m. Tuesday at City Hall, 700 N. Main St. The proposal appears as Item 8.7 on the agenda.
Proposed ordinance expands summer work window
Current city code permits construction, repair and demolition work between 7 a.m. and 6 p.m. throughout the year.
Under the proposed ordinance, work that disturbs the “comfort or repose” of others would be permitted during the following hours:
- From May 1 through Sept. 30, between 6 a.m. and 8 p.m.
- From Oct. 1 through April 30, between 7 a.m. and 6 p.m.
The change would leave winter hours unchanged while expanding the permitted summer workday from 11 hours to 14 hours.
City staff said complaints about work outside the existing schedule demonstrated a need for clearer standards and more consistent enforcement. The packet also cites longer daylight hours and extreme summer heat as reasons to allow crews to begin earlier and reduce work during the hottest part of the day.
The restrictions would apply to construction, repair or demolition involving commercial and residential buildings, roadways, utility facilities and other infrastructure when the work disturbs nearby residents.
City manager could modify hours by project
The ordinance would also authorize the city manager or a designee to establish different hours for individual construction projects when considered necessary to protect public safety, welfare, comfort or repose.
Factors could include a project’s size, duration and location, its proximity to occupied homes, the intensity of the work and anticipated noise or other effects on surrounding properties.
The proposed language does not specify that those project-specific hours must be more restrictive than the standard schedule.
Work requiring inspections outside the city’s regular inspection hours would remain subject to inspector availability and scheduling.
Existing city code allows work outside permitted hours only in cases of urgent public necessity determined by the City Council. The proposed ordinance retains that exception while adding the city manager’s authority to modify hours for individual projects.
Councilors may approve, reject, amend or postpone the ordinance Tuesday.
Damien Willis is founder and editor of Organ Mountain News. If you have a personal story to share or a lead we should follow up on, reach out at OrganMountainNews@gmail.com or connect with him on X at @damienwillis.
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