Albemarle County, VA Noise Ordinances: Leaf Blower Rules (2026)
Key Facts
- Residential quiet hours
- 10:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m.
- Non-residential/mixed-use hours
- 10:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m.
- Covered activities
- Mowing, trimming, clipping, leaf blowing, snow blowing
- Daytime status
- Exempt outside the overnight window (§ 7-106(S))
- Enforcing agency
- Chief of Police under § 7-101
- Penalty
- Class 3 misdemeanor under § 7-108
Summary
In Albemarle County outside Charlottesville and Scottsville, routine yard maintenance sound, including mowing, trimming and leaf blowing, is barred under County Code § 7-105(H) between 10:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m. in residential districts, and between 10:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m. in non-residential and mixed-use districts.
H.Yard maintenance activities. Sound produced by routine yard maintenance activities including, but not limited to, mowing, trimming, clipping, leaf blowing, and snow blowing between the hours of 10:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m. within a residential zoning district established pursuant to County Code Chapter 18, and between the hours of 10:00 p.m. any day and 6:00 a.m. the following day within any non-residential zoning district established pursuant to County Code Chapter 18, including any mixed-use site, and the sound is audible: (i) from a distance of 100 feet or more from the property line of the parcel on which the activities are located; or (ii) from inside a dwelling unit or hotel room.
Full Breakdown
County Code § 7-105(H) makes it unlawful to produce sound from routine yard maintenance activities, including but not limited to mowing, trimming, clipping, leaf blowing and snow blowing, during set overnight hours if the sound is audible either 100 feet or more from the property line of the parcel where the work occurs, or from inside a dwelling unit or hotel room. m. m. Outside those overnight hours, routine yard maintenance sound is exempt from the noise article altogether: § 7-106(S) excludes mowing, trimming, clipping, leaf blowing and snow blowing from the noise prohibitions except for the nighttime window set in § 7-105(H).
and cannot resume before the district's applicable morning cutoff. The Chief of Police administers and enforces the article under § 7-101, with the standard Class 3 misdemeanor penalty in § 7-108 applying to a violation.
Violations & Fines
Running a leaf blower, mower or trimmer during the barred overnight window is a Class 3 misdemeanor under § 7-108. As with other noise complaints, a neighbor must obtain a summons from a magistrate under § 7-107 unless a police officer personally witnesses the yard-maintenance noise.
Frequently Asked Questions
What time can I use a leaf blower in Albemarle County?
Does the rule apply to landscaping companies too?
Is there an exception for daytime yard work?
What's the penalty for running a leaf blower too late?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Albemarle County
How Albemarle County compares: Cities with the Strictest Leaf Blower Rules·Compare Albemarle County to another location·View the Virginia noise ordinances overview
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