Sampson County, NC Noise Ordinances: Leaf Blower Rules (2026)

Sampson County Code § 4-6-03(8) exempts 'lawn mowers, power equipment, and landscape maintenance equipment used between the daylight hours of 7:00 a.m. and 9:00 p.m.' from the general noise prohibition, but only when the equipment is 'operated with all the manufacturer's standard mufflers and noise reducing equipment in use and in proper operating condition.' That means a gas-powered leaf blower, mower, trimmer or similar landscape tool run inside that daytime window with its factory muffler and noise-reducing equipment intact is exempt from the nuisance-noise standard in § 4-6-02.

Running the same equipment before 7:00 a.m. or after 9:00 p.m., or running it with a missing or defective muffler at any hour, forfeits the exemption and exposes the operator to the general prohibition on loud, raucous and disturbing noise that annoys or disturbs a reasonable person of ordinary sensibilities in the vicinity. This exception sits in the same list as the construction-hours exception in § 4-6-03(2), which uses the same 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. weekday window, and the agricultural-equipment exception in § 4-6-03(12), so residential landscaping crews and homeowners face the same daytime window that applies to construction work. Enforcement of noise outside these hours runs through § 4-6-05, which lets a law enforcement or animal control officer cite the responsible person directly.