The ban on heavy construction in Palm Beach during the season will likely soon be longer.
The Palm Beach Town Council has given its initial approval to an ordinance that moves up the start of the town’s in-season restrictions on construction from the first Monday after Thanksgiving to the start of November.
Unanimously approved on first reading during the council’s Sept. 9 meeting, the ordinance would extend a ban on the use of dredges, hammer-driven pile drivers, dry sand blasters and other noisy heavy equipment by nearly a month. In-season restrictions also include barring construction on Saturdays, and requiring work to end at 5 p.m., instead of the 6 p.m. cutoff during the off season, according to the town’s code of ordinances.
The council’s final vote is set for October.
It’s the latest in a series of ordinances passed by Town Council this year to clamp down on the construction sector.
In July, the Town Council passed an ordinance that banned construction from Christmas Eve through New Year’s Day, replacing the town’s previous rules which only prohibit construction on Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day.
Palm Beach also passed a law in May that levies a stop-work order and hefty applications fees for development teams that change construction plans without the go-ahead of the town’s design boards.
Diego Diaz Lasa is a journalist at the Palm Beach Daily News, part of the USA TODAY Florida Network. You can reach him at dlasa@pbdailynews.com.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Daily News: Palm Beach gives initial approval to rule that extends in-season limits on construction
Reporting by Diego Diaz Lasa, Palm Beach Daily News / Palm Beach Daily News
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