Oak Park, IL Noise Ordinances: Leaf Blower Rules (2026)

Article 41 of Chapter 8 licenses lawn maintenance and landscaping businesses and, in § 8-41-4, sets equipment restrictions that apply to anyone operating a leaf blower in the Village of Oak Park. m. on Saturday and Sunday, and only between October 1 and May 31. As of June 1, 2025, § 8-41-4(C) bans gas-powered leaf blowers outright, year-round, except for the narrow emergency exemptions in § 8-41-5: use directed by sworn Police or Fire Department personnel responding to an emergency or to clear fallen trees for public safety.

The Village also bars using a portable generator to power an electric leaf blower or recharge its batteries. A separate noise-control section, § 17-1-30(H), sets a decibel ceiling: no leaf blower may be operated above 65 dB as rated by the manufacturer, and that subsection expressly cross-references the § 8-41-4 equipment restrictions. Violations of the lawn maintenance and landscaping article, including the leaf blower rules, are punished under the Village's general penalty section, § 1-1-5, which allows a fine of not less than $20 and not more than $750, with each day a violation continues treated as a separate offense. A lawn maintenance or landscaping business must also hold a Village license under § 8-41-2 before operating, whether or not it is home-based.