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

San Bernardino County Code of Ordinances Title 8 Division 3 (Noise Control) regulates landscape equipment through general residential noise hours rather than a blower-specific ordinance. Leaf blowers used for routine residential landscaping are allowed in unincorporated county areas between 7 AM and 10 PM with properly maintained equipment and factory mufflers. Unlike many California coastal cities (Pasadena, Beverly Hills, South Pasadena) that ban gas blowers entirely, neither the county nor its desert and mountain communities (Phelan, Joshua Tree, Wrightwood, Lucerne Valley) currently prohibit gas-powered models. California AB 1346 (signed 2021, effective January 1, 2024) phases out the SALE of new gas-powered small off-road engines under 25 horsepower through CARB, which over time will eliminate new gas leaf blowers at retail, but does not make existing gas blowers illegal to own or operate. Incorporated cities set their own stricter rules: Rancho Cucamonga, Chino Hills, and Ontario each enforce tighter hours and operational restrictions. In High Desert wildfire areas (Cal Fire State Responsibility Area), leaf blowers are useful for defensible space maintenance but are subject to spark-arrestor and red-flag-day restrictions.