Dealing with noise from parties won’t be the only issue city commissioners discuss when they review the city’s noise ordinance at tonight’s meeting.

Noise created by construction crews also will be up for discussion. Some neighborhood groups have asked the city to limit when construction crews can make a racket. Construction companies, though, have said the flexibility of being able to work a few extra hours a day is important to their industry.

Commissioners tonight will hear a report from the city’s legal staff, which found Lawrence’s lack of regulation over construction noise is unique.

Scott Miller, a city attorney, surveyed 12 regional cities – De Soto, Kansas City, Mo., Leavenworth, Leawood, Lenexa, Manhattan, Mission, Olathe, Overland Park, Shawnee, Topeka and Wichita – and found Lawrence was the only city that placed no limits on construction noise.

“Essentially, the law as it currently exists would allow someone performing construction activities to perform those activities within the city of Lawrence any time at any volume level regardless of the welfare of the occupants of nearby property,” Miller wrote in his report.

The other communities generally restrict when construction crews can work, typically limiting work to sometime between 7 a.m. to as late as 11 p.m.

But the report also notes that complaints about construction noise aren’t particularly common. They represent about 1 percent of all noise complaints, which would mean fewer than 10 per year.

Sunflower Cement workers pour the curbing for the roads leading up to a new string of apartments at Meadowbrook Monday afternoon.

City commissioners on Monday said they would have to hear more about the issue before deciding whether to clamp down on construction noise.

“I’m going to need to hear more comment on it, but it doesn’t seem like the complaints have been very high,” Mayor Mike Amyx said.

The city’s current code also doesn’t limit when people are allowed to mow their lawn or use other pieces of noisy landscaping equipment. But Miller said several communities did choose to place time restrictions on lawn mowing.

Amyx hopes the city wouldn’t delve into that issue.

“I really don’t want to get into that,” Amyx said. “There is something to be said about being good neighbors and working that out with the people you live next to.”