I did some home work for you. Here is the part of the city's noise ordinance that may apply to lawn care activity.

The noise ordinance sets maximum decibel limits on some noise sources as measured at the property line of where the noise is generated. However, the ordinance exempts some sources of noise from those restrictions. And wouldn't you know, noise from lawn care activities are one of those except noise sources.

So it looks like your out of luck unless the city revises its noise ordinance. If you want that to happen you will have to lobby the city to do just that. I suggest you team up with other citizens who have similar concerns.

https://library.municode.com/index.aspx?clientId=10312

"The maximum noise limitation standards defined in §12-5003 shall not apply to the following sources:

(a)

Emergency warning devices or safety signals;

(b)

Lawn care equipment and agricultural field equipment used during the daytime hours;

(c)

Equipment being used for construction, provided that all equipment is operated with all standard equipment manufacturer's mufflers and noise-reducing equipment in use and in proper operating condition.

(d)

Parades, fairs, circuses, other similar public entertainment events, sanctioned sporting events, sporting activities taking place in areas set aside for such activities, or any activities normally associated with any of the above;

(e)

Bells, chimes and similar devices which operate during daytime hours for a duration of no longer than five (5) minutes in any given period;

(f)

Emergency work;

(g)

Sixty-cycle electric transformers; or

(h)

Emission of sound from any source or sources on public rights-of-way.

(i)

Excavation and loading of spoil and excavation materials from sites located within the boundaries of the secondary fire district as described in §5-2034.

(j)

Excavation and loading of spoil and excavation materials from sites located on City owned sanitary landfill sites.

(k)

Properly installed and operating residential heating, ventilating, and air conditioning systems.

(Ord. No. 1977-580, §3, 7-5-77; Ord. No. 1980-508, §§11, 12, 10-21-80; Ord. No. 2005-785, §1, 3-1-05; Ord. No. 2011-867, §1, 4-19-11) "

Thanks, Larry! I did speak to someone with the City just this morning. She was very sympathetic, but said (very nicely) that I was out of luck. Under existing ordinances, someone can make as much noise as they'd like, even if it's loud enough to be disruptive while you are inside your home, if it's not between the hours of 11 pm and 7 am. So, as irritating as it is, there's nothing that can be done about it. These guys can stand in the street (as long as they are not in my yard) and rev up their leaf blowers for hours on end and I cannot do a thing about it. There's no law saying people have to be good neighbors, or hire considerate lawncare people/contractors/etc.

I really like most of my neighbors and I really don't want bad blood with any of them. The majority of people who work do so in a location other than their home, so I'm in the minority. I don't know if there's enough interest to "rally the troop" but another neighbor adjacent to me has made similar observations to mine.

Oh well! Time to invest in wine and noise-canceling headphones.

I am happy to see that the city did respond to your inquiry about the noise ordinance even though you were a bit disappointed in its response. Indeed, the city is correct. The current noise ordinance does not address lawn care related noise. But just because the current noise ordinance exempts lawn care related noise from the noise ordinance does not mean nothing can be done about it. Don't give so fast.

You mention leaf blower noise in particular, therefore I presume it is leaf blower noise that most concerns you. And I also presume that lawn mower noise is not at issue with you. As you might expect and accept, there's no way the city will ban lawn mowers or try to somehow limit their noise emissions, and I suspect you are willing to accept the noise from lawn movers and probably use one yourself or have a lawn care service cut your grass as your neighbors do.

However, lawn mowers are one thing, and leaf blowers are another. Indeed, many people all over America find the noise emissions from leaf blowers to be extremely annoying and distressful, and much more so than lawn mover noise. And they find gasoline powered leaf blowers to be particularly annoying, as they are not as well muffled as most lawn movers are.

Lawn movers have been around for a long time, are pretty well muffled for the most part, and people have gotten used to them and tolerate their noise emissions pretty well. Lawn mowers are also widely regarded as providing a purposeful function that would difficult to achieve by other means. It goes without saying that using sheep and cattle grazing on your property to keep the grass down is not a practical alternative by any means.

However, leaf blowers are a relatively new type of lawn care device. And although many people may find them useful, leaf blowers do not provide a function that cannot be achieved by other much less intrusive means. For years people got along very well maintaining their yards without leaf blowers, the practical alternative being rakes and brooms; exquisitely quiet and far less polling rakes and brooms. There is no rational reason why the lawn care providers cannot use them, although many of them will swear nine ways to Sunday that leaf blowers are indispensable, they are in fact, unnecessary.

The leaf blower noise issue has become so annoying to many people throughput America that some communities have banned their use completely even over the objections of the lawn care industry, one of their chief proponents. If banning the use of leaf blowers (not unconstitutional, unfair or economically damaging by any means) can be done in those communities, it can be done in your community.

If leaf blower noise is the noise issue that degrades your quality of life and concerns you, then I suggest you get together with other citizens that share your concern and lobby the city to revise its noise ordinance to ban those noisy, annoying and unnecessary leaf blowers. Now there is a noise ordinance that solves that noise problem would be simple to enforce. Check out Noise Free America ( http://www.noisefree.org/ ) for more information about the leaf blower noise issue and all kinds of other noise pollution issues.

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