Council Moves Forward With Study of Leaf Blower Ban

The Burlingame City Council may consider banning leaf blowers or placing restrictions on types of equipment and hours of use allowed following a study session last week.

At that session, the Burlingame City Council heard from the Citizen’s Environmental Council on its proposed plan of action regarding leaf blowers.

The CEC prepared two sample ordinances to bring before the council.  One would ban only gas-powered leaf blowers—which emit carbon monoxide into the air—and the other would ban both gas and electric leaf blowers.

JoAnneh Nagler, who presented the ordinances and a report on leaf blower safety to the council, said an ordinance would be relatively easy to enforce.

She spoke with mayors and representatives from cities with similar ordinances in places such as Palo Alto, Santa Barbara, Berkeley, Santa Monica and Mill Valley while compiling the report.

She said that placing restrictions on leaf blowers take a community effort, and gardeners should not be held responsible for the harm or disturbance leaf blowers cause.

“The most important point [is] taking the focus off hunting down gardeners,” Nagler said. “If there’s a safety hazard at my property…I need to be responsible for that.”

According to the report, both gas and electric leaf blowers release “ground-borne pathogens called ‘particulate matter’ into our breathing air (mercury, arsenic, mold, animal feces, pesticides, etc.), which researchers believe contributes to and causes respiratory disease,” such as asthma and lung disease.

Those who live and work in neighborhoods where leaf blowers are used during the day are at greatest risk, which accounts for 55 percent of Burlingame residents, the report said.

Workers operating the leaf blowers are at an even greater risk, especially as many refrain from using protective eye or ear wear.

“Worker health seems to be the elephant in the room,” Nagler said.

She said banning both types of leaf blowers is the most progressive thing to do, as electric blowers are at no great health or noise advantage over gas. The ordinance would divide the city into four sections and limit the days and hours of allowed leaf blower use to cut down on air and noise pollution.

Councilmember Cathy Baylock said she supported looking into an ordinance because of the health issue presented, but wanted to make sure the community has the same information as the council regarding leaf blowers and that any bans wouldn’t harm gardeners and their businesses.

“I think we can’t ignore the health impacts of what’s being presented to us…but if [the public hasn’t] read what I read, they can’t understand the implications,” she said. “I’m open to looking at a way…to start down a path that’s fair to everyone.”

Councilmember Ann Keighran agreed they have to look at the issue in a fair way and provide good, affordable alternatives to gardeners. She also asked for more information on industry standards and regulations and more community feedback to reach a fair compromise.

In keeping with this line of thought, Councilmember Michael Brownrigg said he would expect gardening prices to go up if leaf blowers were banned and gardeners had to rake yards, a more timely method of leaf removal.

The council will continue the issue at future meetings once they receive more information.

The current Burlingame Municipal Code allows only leaf blowers operated at a noise level of 65 decibels or less from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday and noon to 4 p.m. on Sundays and holidays, with extended hours for city park and facility areas.