Tuscaloosa has no leaf-blower-specific ban. Its noise code instead exempts 'domestic power equipment' from the noise limits when operated between 6:00 a.m. and 9:00 p.m. (City Code Sec. 10.8-14(g)). Outside those hours, such equipment must meet the residential decibel limits.
Tuscaloosa does not single out leaf blowers, but it regulates them indirectly through the 'domestic power equipment' exemption in its noise code. Section 10.8-12 defines domestic power equipment as 'any equipment or device used for routine home or building repairs and grounds maintenance,' which covers gas and electric leaf blowers, lawn mowers, trimmers, edgers and similar yard tools. Section 10.8-14(g) provides that the noise article 'shall not apply to any domestic power equipment operated between the hours of 6:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m.' The practical effect is that homeowners and landscapers may use leaf blowers and mowers without violating the noise limits during that daytime window. If such equipment is run before 6:00 a.m. or after 9:00 p.m., the exemption no longer applies and the noise must stay within the residential decibel ceilings of Section 10.8-13 (75 dB(A) day / 65 dB(A) night after the 2018 amendment). The city imposes no separate decibel rating, electric-only mandate or seasonal restriction on leaf blowers.
Yard-equipment noise outside the 6 a.m.-9 p.m. window is enforced under Section 10.8-13 and prosecuted in Tuscaloosa Municipal Court. Per Alabama Code Section 11-45-9, the penalty is up to $500 and/or up to six months.
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