Bayonne, NJ Noise Ordinances: Leaf Blower Rules (2026)

City Code § 3-1.8b(1) restricts "noncommercial or nonindustrial power tools and landscaping and yard maintenance equipment" from operating between 8:00 p.m. and 8:00 a.m., unless the activity can meet the applicable Table I and Table II decibel limits set out at § 3-1.6 and § 3-1.7. Leaf blowers are not named individually, but they fall squarely within "landscaping and yard maintenance equipment." All motorized equipment used for these activities must run with a muffler. Outside the 8:00 p.m. to 8:00 a.m. window, the Table I and Table II limits do not apply to this category at all, so daytime yard work has no decibel ceiling.

A stricter, distance-based standard applies to commercial or industrial landscaping crews under § 3-1.8b(2): they cannot run power equipment on or within 250 feet of a residential property between 6:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m. on weekdays or 6:00 p.m. to 9:00 a.m. on weekends and holidays, and must meet Table I/II limits between 10:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m. even on commercial land. Emergency work is excluded from the commercial restriction. Violations are enforced by the Noise Control Officer or Police Department under § 3-1.9/§ 3-1.10, with a hearing available in Bayonne Municipal Court and the Chapter 1 § 1-5 penalty of up to $1,250 or 90 days on conviction, each day counted separately.