Wayne, NJ Noise Ordinances: Leaf Blower Rules (2026)

Chapter 121 of the Wayne Township Code, Passaic County, New Jersey, sorts yard equipment into two groups in § 121-9. Paragraph A covers power tools, home maintenance tools, and landscaping or yard maintenance equipment used by a residential property owner or tenant. None of it can be operated between 8:00 p.m. and 8:00 a.m. unless the activity can meet the limits in Tables I, II or III. Paragraph B covers the same kind of equipment when nonresidential operators run it, and the code names commercial operators and public employees. That rule reaches residential, commercial, industrial and public property, with golf courses, parks and athletic fields listed as public examples. The barred window is 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 a.m. on weekdays and 6:00 p.m. to 9:00 a.m. on weekends or federal holidays.

Both paragraphs exclude emergency work, and both say that at all other times the limits in Tables I, II or III do not apply. Every piece of motorized equipment used in these activities must run with a muffler and/or sound reduction device. The chapter does not use the term leaf blower and draws no line between gas and electric models, so a blower is judged as yard maintenance equipment under these hours.

A separate rule in Chapter 106 targets landscapers: § 106-4(E) says landscapers shall not blow grass and/or vegetative waste into the street and fail to remove it from the street. Landscapers also carry an annual permit and vehicle decal from the Township Clerk unless they are registered under the Home Improvement Contractor Registration Act, and the permit term runs from April 1 to March 31.

Noise Control Officers and Noise Control Investigators enforce Chapter 121. Under § 123-5 the Chief of Police and designees act as Noise Control Investigators for time-of-day and distance questions that need no sound level meter.