Millcreek, PA Noise Ordinances: Leaf Blower Rules (2026)

Millcreek Township regulates yard-equipment noise through the Noise Control Ordinance in Article VII of Chapter 40, not through a leaf blower rule. Section 40-49 defines landscaping activity as any work done with or without equipment like lawnmowers, hedge trimmers, weed whackers, etc., to care for, improve, alter, or maintain the grounds and greenspaces on or part of a property. The Code never names leaf blowers or distinguishes gas from electric or battery tools, so the hours rule and the definition's test of caring for or maintaining grounds are all the text there is.

Section 40-51C exempts sounds from landscaping activity between the hours of 7:00 a.m. and 9:00 p.m. or until sunset, whichever occurs first. Inside that window the sound is exempt from the article, including the decibel limits. The end time is the earlier of 9:00 p.m. and sunset, which means the exemption closes at sunset on any evening when sunset comes before 9:00 p.m.

Outside the window, the exemption no longer applies and the sound is measured against Table I in § 40-50. In the CR, R-1, R-2 and R-3 residential districts the limit is 57 dB(A) for residential day and 52 dB(A) for residential night, with night running from 10:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m. Sound is a noise disturbance when it exceeds a limit by 15 dB at any moment, or by five dB for 10 continuous minutes or a total of 10 minutes out of any twenty-minute period. The limit applied is the one for the zoning district of the property where the equipment operates.

Snow removal is a separate case: § 40-51D treats it as emergency work and exempts it. The Millcreek Township Police Department enforces the article, can issue a warning before a citation, and can order a person to cease a noise disturbance.