Gaithersburg, MD Noise Ordinances: Leaf Blower Rules (2026)

Section 15-8(a) of the Gaithersburg City Code restricts the operation of lawnmowers, power tools, bulldozers, construction or building equipment, or other power-driven labor-saving devices, the phrase that captures gas- and battery-powered leaf blowers along with other yard equipment, when the sound is audible beyond the nearest common property line. The equipment cannot run between 9:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m. on weekdays, or between 9:00 p.m. and 9:00 a.m. on weekends and federal holidays, meaning yard work is allowed starting at 7:00 a.m. Monday through Friday but not until 9:00 a.m. on Saturdays, Sundays and federal holidays.

The section carves out an exception for emergency repairs and other unique circumstances that the city manager has specifically approved in advance, so a utility crew responding to a downed line or a burst pipe outside the permitted hours would not automatically violate the ordinance if the city manager signed off. Because this restriction sits within the broader Section 15-8 disturbing-the-peace provision, the same nuisance framework covers lawn crews, landscaping contractors and homeowners alike; the rule does not distinguish between a homeowner mowing their own lawn and a commercial landscaping company running blowers and mowers on a client's property. The provision was adopted by Ordinance No. O-5-95 on June 5, 1995, and has not been amended since.