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Strength tiers, S to G

We summarise every municipality's leaf-blower law as a single letter — S through G. The letter is derived from two facts in the database: what the law does (status) and how it does it (regulation basis).

The matrix

Rows are the law's status. Columns are how the law is structured. The badge in each cell is the strength tier; the small number is how many places we currently track in that cell. Click a cell to jump to the corresponding section of the tracker.

Strongest → weakest

If you just want the ladder, here it is.

  1. S
    Total prohibition 4 places

    Every leaf blower — gas and electric — banned year-round. Strongest possible rule.

  2. A
    Year-round gas ban 96 places

    Gas-powered blowers prohibited year-round; electric is unaffected.

  3. B
    Seasonal gas ban 92 places

    Gas blowers off during quieter parts of the year, typically late spring through early fall.

  4. B−
    Government fleet only 3 places

    Municipal crews must run electric. Private and contractor use unaffected.

  5. C
    Equipment dB cap 24 places

    Leaf blowers named in the ordinance with a decibel threshold; fuel-source neutral.

  6. D
    Generic dB cap 5 places

    Property-line noise cap that constrains gas blowers in practice, but the ordinance does not name them.

  7. E
    Hours only 35 places

    Hours-of-operation rules with no equipment-specific limit.

  8. F
    In play 71 places

    Proposal under active consideration; no rule on the books yet.

  9. G
    No rule 16 places

    No ordinance text constrains leaf-blower use.

How we read the law

Two database fields drive every tier:

Status
What the law accomplishes. Five values: full ban, partial / seasonal ban, government fleet only, considering, no ban.
Regulation basis
The mechanism the ordinance uses.
  • Equipment-specific: Ordinance names leaf blowers and sets a quantitative threshold; fuel-source neutral.
  • Fuel source: Ordinance distinguishes gas/diesel from electric/battery.
  • Generic dB cap: Generic property-line decibel cap, low enough to constrain gas blowers in practice.
  • Hours only: Hours-of-operation rule; no equipment-specific quantitative limit.
  • No basis: No relevant ordinance text.

A few cells in the matrix are empty by construction — a full ban can't be a "decibel cap" because the ban itself, not the noise level, is what does the work. Those cells render as .