Indio Municipal Code Section 95C.04(F) restricts leaf blowers to 7:00 a.m.–8:00 p.m. on most days, and 10:00 a.m.–8:00 p.m. on Sundays. Blowers must have a working muffler and an approved sound-limiting device so they don't exceed the code's noise standards.
The City of Indio sets specific leaf-blower hours and equipment requirements in Indio Municipal Code Section 95C.04(F) — a city rule, not Riverside County's. The code defines a leaf blower as any portable, hand-held or backpack, engine-powered device with a nozzle that creates a directable airstream capable of moving leaves and light materials. Leaf blowers 'shall only be operated between the hours of 7:00 a.m. and 8:00 p.m. on any day except on Sunday when they may only be operated between the hours of 10:00 a.m. and 8:00 p.m.' In addition, every leaf blower must be 'equipped with functional mufflers and an approved sound limiting device' so that it cannot generate sound exceeding any limit set in the noise chapter. Unlike some California cities, Indio does not ban gas-powered blowers outright in its municipal code; it regulates the hours and the equipment. Note that California's statewide phase-out of new gas-powered small off-road engines (which includes many leaf blowers) under AB 1346 and CARB rules took effect for new equipment sales in 2024 — that is a state-level restriction on selling new gas units, separate from Indio's local hours rule. Operating outside the permitted hours, or with a blower that exceeds the code's noise standards, is enforced under the noise chapter's warning-then-citation process in Section 95C.10.
Using a leaf blower outside the permitted hours, or with a defective muffler/sound-limiting device, is a noise-code violation. Enforcement follows Section 95C.10: a written Noise Warning Notice first, then a citation (infraction) for a repeat within 30 days at the same location, with a cost charge of at least $100.
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