Riverside County, CA Noise Ordinances: Leaf Blower Rules (2026)

Unincorporated Riverside County does not impose a special leaf-blower decibel limit or a ban on gas-powered blowers. Instead, Ordinance No. 847 treats yard equipment as exempt property maintenance under Section 2(j), which excludes 'Property maintenance, including, but not limited to, the operation of lawnmowers, leaf blowers, etc.' from the ordinance's sound-level standards, provided the maintenance occurs between the hours of 7:00 a.m. and 8:00 p.m. In practical terms, residents and landscapers may run blowers, mowers and similar equipment during that daytime window without violating the noise ordinance, even if the equipment is loud. Outside those hours (before 7:00 a.m. or after 8:00 p.m.), the exemption no longer applies and the equipment is subject to the general Table 1 limits and the property-line measurement. The county's General Plan Noise Element (Policy N 4.6) anticipates establishing acceptable standards for residential noise sources such as leaf blowers, mobile vendors and mobile stereos, but that is a planning goal, not an adopted numeric limit. Note that gas-powered leaf blowers and other small off-road engines are also affected by California's statewide phase-out of new small off-road engine sales under the California Air Resources Board (CARB), which is a separate emissions matter from county noise rules.