DeKalb County commissioners are weighing a new noise ordinance that would cap daytime sound from leaf blowers, mowers and trimmers at 65 decibels, but the measure has stalled amid disagreement over how officers would actually prove a violation. The proposal would replace the county’s current “plainly audible” standard, which relies on an officer’s own judgment, with hard sound-level readings requiring specialized meters county staff say are too costly and complicated to deploy.
The measure, formally known as County File # 2025-0015, has been on the DeKalb County Commission’s agenda but a vote will likely be delayed pending a committee recommendation, according to WSB-TV. Commissioner Ted Terry, who authored the ordinance, said officials have been discussing changes to the county’s noise rules for more than two years and that the goal is to preserve neighborhood peace while creating regulations that can actually be enforced. Terry has also questioned whether plainly audible violations can be proven or challenged under the county’s current approach, a concern the station reports is central to the debate.
Under the draft legislation, daytime sound levels in residential areas would be capped at 65 decibels from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m., dropping to 60 decibels overnight, according to county filings reviewed by DeKalb County Government. An ordinance committee is preparing a recommendation that could further amend the restrictions based on time of day, per the same WSB-TV report.
Why Enforcement, Not Noise, Is the Sticking Point
The plan would require homeowners and landscapers alike to lean more heavily on quieter electric equipment, but doing so runs into a real legal constraint: Georgia’s 2023 LEAF Act (House Bill 374) bars local governments from banning gas-powered leaf blowers outright or regulating them more harshly than electric models, according to the Georgia State University Law Review. That is why DeKalb’s proposal is built around uniform decibel limits applied to all noise sources rather than a targeted gas-equipment ban…