Farmington Hills, MI Noise Ordinances: Leaf Blower Rules (2026)

Section 17-101(g)(4) is the leaf-blower and lawn-care rule. It exempts lawn care and yard maintenance from the Sec. 17-101(c) Table A maximum permitted dB(A) levels but limits the exemption to the hours of 8:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. Within that window, gas backpack blowers, push and ride-on mowers, line trimmers, hedge trimmers, chainsaws, and similar lawn equipment may operate without regard to the residential 60/55/50 dB(A) caps - even though a typical gas backpack blower produces 65-75 dB(A) at 50 feet and would otherwise exceed the daytime residential cap. Outside that window (before 8 a.m. or after 9 p.m.), the exemption is lost and the Table A residential caps reassert: 55 dB(A) (7 p.m. - 10 p.m. evening) and 50 dB(A) (10 p.m. - 7 a.m. night). Practically, a commercial landscaper running gas blowers at 7:30 a.m. in a Farmington Hills residential subdivision can be cited under Sec. 17-101(a) for exceeding the 60 dB(A) daytime cap at the receiving property line, because the (g)(4) exemption has not yet begun. Same logic applies to 9:30 p.m. cleanup work. Section 17-101(e) intermittent-sound clause supports citation even where Table A is not exceeded if duration and time-of-day make the sound unreasonable. Michigan has not preempted local leaf-blower regulation, and Farmington Hills has not adopted a gas-blower ban, registration program, or seasonal restriction. HOA covenants in newer Farmington Hills subdivisions (the Ramblewood, Independence Commons, Glenbrooke, and similar planned communities) frequently impose stricter contractor schedules enforced by the association. Lawn maintenance for the city's commercial-office corridors (Twelve Mile / Orchard Lake / Northwestern Highway / Grand River Avenue) is technically governed by the business/office Table A caps (65 dB(A) day, 50 dB(A) night), but the (g)(4) exemption applies broadly across districts during 8 a.m. - 9 p.m.