Leominster, MA Environmental Rules: Vehicle Idling Restrictions (2026)

Section 14-8(3)(d) sits among the noise ordinance's time restrictions and reads plainly: no automobile, motorcycle, truck or vehicle-mounted refrigeration equipment, delivery trucks with reefer units included, or other motorized vehicle can be left running for more than five minutes when it is not in traffic. The rule is framed as a noise limit rather than a stand-alone idling ordinance and applies citywide wherever a stationary, running vehicle would otherwise be tolerated.

Because Section 14-8(3)(d) is one clause inside the broader noise ordinance, its violation carries the ordinance's general enforcement and fine structure: the Director of Public Health and every duly appointed Leominster police officer can enforce it, and each offense is punishable by one hundred dollars for a first violation, two hundred dollars for a second, and three hundred dollars for a third or later violation, with each day a violation continues counted as a separate offense. The city can pursue a criminal complaint or, as an alternative, a noncriminal citation under Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 40, Section 21D. Section 14-8's exemptions cover emergency vehicles and emergency work, and municipal snow-clearing equipment, but do not carve out an exception for delivery trucks, buses or refrigerated trailers idling at a curb.