The Agawam City Council passed the first reading a new ordinance that establishes concrete hours for when construction work can commence and end on weekdays and weekends.
Photo credit: Agawam Media
AGAWAM — Following a debate, the Agawam City Council approved the first reading of an ordinance that establishes specific hours for when construction workers can work.
The ordinance, sponsored by Mayor Christopher Johnson, as well as city councilors Peter Smus and Anthony Russo, makes it so any building or excavation can only take place between the hours of 7 a.m. and 8 p.m. on weekdays and 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. on weekends.
Additionally, the new amendment states that construction preparation work may take place between 6 and 7 a.m. on weekdays.
“This is common sense,” said City Councilor George Bitzas, during the Oct. 20 regular meeting. “At least we have it on the books.”
According to Russo, the ordinance helps maintain residents’ quiet time while still giving construction workers’ the opportunity to quietly set up for their day.
“What this amendment now does, it specifies that only that quiet preparation can be done at 6 a.m..” said Russo, whose been a part of the construction field in various capacities for over two decades. “So, before I could see the misunderstanding, thinking ‘oh wait a minute, at 6 a.m. there could be heavy noises, heavy equipment.’ No, there’s not supposed to be any of that. It’s supposed to be quiet prep stuff. So that’s what this should be specifying.”
The ordinance was conceived in the midst of some Agawam residents, particularly in the Feeding Hills neighborhood, expressing frustration with loud construction noises in their area.
Feeding Hills resident Stephen Czerpak told the council during public comment that he was against the council’s new ordinance because he wanted construction to start at 9 a.m. on the weekends and to not have it occur on legally observed holidays.
“The amendment allows construction activities on all legal holidays and Sundays, leaving no additional relief from construction noise and activity throughout the year,” Czerpak said.
But Russo and others on the council argued that the new ordinance protects residents like Czerpak because it forces the city’s building inspector to make sure construction workers are not operating during quiet hours.
City Councilor Dino Mercadante agreed with Russo’s sentiments, arguing that the ordinance will prevent construction from occurring too early in the morning.
He said there was one instance on Maynard Street where heavy construction equipment was passing by just before 5 a.m. one day.
“This disrupted quality of life,” Mercadante said. “So again, don’t pass the ordinance because you don’t like a provision it, and you have no protection. Pass the ordinance, at least you have something.”
City Councilor Tom Hendrickson also threw his support behind the amendment, saying that it deftly balances the needs of the residents and the construction workers who dedicate their time to major projects across the city.
“We have to balance the interests of people who deal with the noise and the interests of people who work on the projects,” Hendrickson said. “And I think that this ordinance, especially as it’s been amended, does exactly that.”
The council eventually passed the full construction noise ordinance unanimously, but City Councilor Robert Rossi was the lone dissenter when it came to the amendment of what the hours would be.
He noted that Agawam has never had an ordinance dealing with construction noise and shared that Massachusetts has no law on its books pertaining to this particular issue.
Despite this, it is common knowledge across the state that construction begins at 7 a.m. and quiet hours are generally between 9 a.m. and 7 p.m., according to Rossi, who expressed issue with the stipulation that construction prep work can start at 6 a.m.
“When you start disrupting someone’s sleep, disturbing their kids in the morning, waking them up early with heavy construction, then you’re infringing on their rights, their benefits and they have a right to quiet time as the community has existed for years and years and years and will be long after we’re gone,” Rossi said. “And that’s why we’re here.”
Now that the council has approved first reading of the ordinance, they must now approve the second reading at its next meeting for it to be codified.
