Residents fume about construction noise behind south Charlotte neighborhood

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Imagine being jolted out of bed a few hours before your alarm goes off each morning by construction workers right behind your home.

Some families in south Charlotte say that’s exactly what’s happening in their neighborhood behind the Smith Family Center off Tyvola Road.

Channel 9 spoke to neighbors about their concerns and scoped out the construction site on Tuesday morning. Reporter Mark Barber learned the crews who are building a school there may have violated the city’s noise ordinance.

“It was about 4:25 and I looked at the clock. It sounded like a dump truck rolling over. It shocked me,” neighbor Martin Doss said.

Doss lives across the street from the construction zone where crews are working on the new building for Collinswood Language Academy, which is scheduled to open in 2020.

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He said the sounds of construction were so loud on Tuesday morning they shook him awake.

“I thought there were rules in the city about not working certain hours. During the work week, I didn’t think you could be woken up during night hours,” he asked.

Channel 9 checked the rules and found Charlotte's noise ordinance prohibits “the operation of construction machinery between the hours of 9 p.m. and 7 a.m.”

Doss isn’t the only one in the area with concerns.

A father with a baby across the street told Channel 9 he regularly hears the rumble of construction early in the morning.

“I’ve definitely woken up from it,” he said.

That neighbor is trying to sell his house but thinks all of the construction is scaring off buyers.

“I’ve just been hearing the bulldozers and the dump trucks and everything coming through,” he said.

Channel 9 reached out to the company building the school, Turner Construction, to figure out why its crews are working while families are trying to sleep.

Vice president and general manager Mark Dent released the following statement, “Turner is working within the guidelines of the City of Charlotte Noise Ordinance Sec. 15-63 – Sounds impacting residential life. We are working more than 300 feet from of any residential occupied structure between the hours of 9 p.m. and 7 a.m. It is always Turner’s policy to work within the guidelines of the City’s Noise Ordinance. However, in the spirit of being a community partner we plan to work with Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools and local community organizations to post and communicate future construction activities that may occur between 9 p.m. and 7 a.m.”

The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department has also been alerted to the problem.

In a city like Charlotte, where there's construction on practically every corner, there’s not much someone suffering from construction disruption can do, though, like Doss, you can reach out to a representative with political clout.

Doss said he reached to County Commissioner Pat Cotham to try and get help.

Residents can also ask CMPD to investigate since the department enforces the noise ordinance.

Depending on the frequency and severity of the violation, fines can range anywhere from $100 to $1,000.

Cox Media Group