Please ban the use of gas powered leaf blowers as soon as possible. I hope each of you will carefully read the staff report, including the detailed report from the Environmental Commission. The staff have made excellent suggestions on how to more forward with community outreach, implementation and enforcement of a ZELE ordinance, and since quality ZELE equipment is now available for crews to use in yard maintenance it is time to switch. The State ban on gas equipment purchase will do nothing to change gas blower use for decades to come, since these machines do last a long time.
Recently there has been a significant increase in blower use on Saturdays and holidays, and occasionally on Sundays. Four property owners on my block have routine yard maintenance on Saturdays. Five have a Monday schedule, which means the blowers are there on holidays that fall on Mondays. The gardeners spend as much or more time blowing our streets than maintaining gardens, and landscapers now design for leaf blower use- so I was told by a landscaper. As a result, the blowers are running 6 days a week for hours at a time, filling the neighborhood with noise, dust and a stink of toxic exhaust. During the pandemic when my husband had to work from home, my husband had to cancel business meetings and stop working when next door neighbor’s gardeners were working because even indoors with double paned windows the noise was too disruptive. We can’t enjoy being out in our yard during the week because of the noise and stench, nor can we walk downtown because we are assured of being blasted by blowers at some point along the way. It is out of hand, and completely unnecessary.
Many people will argue that the switch will be too costly for gardeners- I’ve heard this argument from both home owners and gardeners. The staff report however, shows that the cost will be recovered in about 2 years time due to the decrease in fuel and maintenance costs. Most of the gardeners I’ve talked to have said they are just waiting for financial incentives to make the switch. A few still staunchly believe only gas blowers can do the job.
A few homeowners have mentioned that they have installed charging stations for their gardeners to use. This could be something the City requires with new home and commercial property construction.
Please proceed with a ZELE ordinance!
Carole Grace
carolelfgrace@gmail.com
