Santa Barbara

Ban status

Citywide gas blower ban adopted by voters October 9, 1997 (Ordinance 5036, §9.16.021) after a 9,000+ signature drive. Sticker requirement effective July 1, 1998: all blowers must be ≤65 dB with certification. Permitted hours 9am-5pm Monday-Saturday, never Sundays/holidays; not within 250 ft of residential zone.

Timeline

• 2026-06-23Report published — Grand Jury: Santa Barbara Failing to Enforce Its Leaf Blower Ordinance
• 2026-06-23Report published — Santa Barbara Grand Jury Calls on City to Enforce Its Gas Leaf Blower Ban

Research & citations

• Santa Barbara Grand Jury Calls on City to Enforce Its Gas Leaf Blower Ban— gas leaf blowers, 2026-06-24T03:03:11.000Z
  A Santa Barbara County civil grand jury report calls on the City of Santa Barbara to actually enforce its long-ignored gas-powered leaf blower ban, which the article describes as one of the city's most openly and universally flouted laws.
• Grand Jury: Santa Barbara Failing to Enforce Its Leaf Blower Ordinance— gas leaf blowers, 2026-06-23T18:10:43.000Z
  A Santa Barbara County Grand Jury report says the City of Santa Barbara is failing to enforce its existing leaf blower regulations, finding an ordinance intended to limit gas-powered blowers is not being adequately applied.
• The Movement to 'Make America Rake Again' — Reasons to be Cheerful— Reasons to be Cheerful, 2024-01-18
  Hannah Wallace profiles the national push to ban gas-powered leaf blowers, opening with Quiet Clean PDX co-chair Michael Hall (Portland, OR) and noting more than 100 US cities have enacted bans alongside 45+ Quiet Clean Alliance member groups. Calls Washington D.C.'s 2022 phase-out the "gold standard" — three-year ramp-up, citizen-affidavit enforcement via DLCP, fines up to $500. Surveys California's CARB AB-1346 zero-emission rule (effective Jan 2024) plus the state's $30M CORE voucher program; cites bans in Burlington VT, Evanston IL, Oakland, Beverly Hills, Santa Barbara, and Montgomery County MD; flags rebate/discount programs in Colorado (30% statewide point-of-sale discount, eff. Jan 2024) and Dallas. Quotes Seagraves Landscaping (West Linn, OR — a Lake Oswego Parks contractor) on crews preferring electric blowers. Closes by linking the movement to the Xerces Society's Leave the Leaves campaign.
• City of Santa Barbara — Municipal Code (leaf blower / noise)— City of Santa Barbara
  Codified leaf blower / noise ordinance for City of Santa Barbara, California. Source: eCode360.
• Leaf Blowers — Santa Barbara County APCD
• Santa Barbara, CA — Official Municipal Website