Abington, PA Noise Ordinances: Leaf Blower Rules (2026)

Section 106-3.K of the noise ordinance groups leaf blowers with other mechanical yard and utility equipment rather than singling them out with their own hours or decibel cap. The subsection makes it unlawful for any person operating machinery, a commercial motor vehicle unit on a truck, equipment, a pump, a snowplow, a snowblower, a lawn mower, a leaf blower, a chain saw or a similar mechanical device to use that equipment in a manner or with a volume that annoys or disturbs the quiet, comfort or repose of any person in a dwelling, apartment or other residence, on any day of the week.

Unlike the fixed 7:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. construction window in subsection H, subsection K sets no specific hours for lawn and yard equipment; instead, it applies a disturbance standard that runs every day, meaning a leaf blower run at a reasonable hour can still violate the ordinance if its manner or volume disturbs a neighbor's repose. The subsection carves out one exception: it does not apply to municipal vehicles used for emergency work, such as, but not limited to, snow removal, so a township snowplow or snowblower crew clearing streets is not restricted by the same disturbance standard applied to a private resident's leaf blower or lawn mower.

Because subsection K is a manner-and-volume standard rather than a numeric decibel limit, enforcement by the Abington Health Department or Police Department under § 106-4 typically turns on the character of the disturbance rather than a sound-level meter reading, in contrast to the numeric limits set in the adjoining § 106-3.L for air-conditioning and mechanical equipment.