Sebastopol considers ban on leaf blowers

Sebastopol may become the first Sonoma County city to ban the use of gasoline engine leaf blowers when city officials consider the measure next week.

“You are at home during the day and want to relax, I cannot think of anything more intrusive than a leaf blower near by,” said Councilman Guy Wilson, who requested the proposal be brought to Tuesday's council agenda, as a response to complaints by area residents.

“I get it people really don't like these things.”

Tiburon and Mill Valley in Marin County already have these bans, as does Palo Alto, Berkeley, Foster City, Los Altos, Menlo Park, Sunnyvale and a dozen other cities in California.

However, it would be a first in Sonoma County.

“The fact is many, many communities have restricted leaf blowers, it is not just a Sebastopol thing,” Wilson said.

Bodega Avenue resident Dan Friedman said it's a noise issue and, because the machines are gas-powered, a global warming issue.

“I have a weekly alarm system across the street, 8 a.m. on Wednesdays, where some landscapers turn on the leaf blowers. Sometimes they push the envelope and start earlier,” Friedman said. “They are really noisy ... they are obnoxious.”

Tracy Escher at First American Title said the noise can make it hard to work.

“Yesterday morning they were going at it at 9 or 10 a.m. It's really annoying. We were trying to listen on the phones,” Escher said. “It's pretty loud when you are trying to talk on the phone or just think.”

The ban would affect the city's own maintenance employees, who use gas-engine leaf blowers, as well as private landscape companies.

“We would essentially be out of any parking lot or park service. We could hand sweep, but it would be expensive,” said Darryl Orr, co-owner of Pacific Landscapes in Sebastopol.

Sebastopol currently has a noise ordinance that restricts the use of construction equipment from operating nights and holidays, but the regulations don't extend to maintenance equipment, such as leaf blowers.

“People every once and awhile will complain about it. But I'm not convinced we need a ban,” said Councilman Larry Robinson. “It may be more appropriate to restrict the hours they can be used. The complaints I hear are between 7 and 8 a.m.

The City Council recently has implemented bans on smoking and drinking in the city plaza and parks, and formalized a policy against spending city funds on plastic water bottles.

The latest proposal, however, doesn't necessarily mean Sebastopol is the city of “don'ts.”

“Another way to look at it is the protection of the rights of residents to peace and quiet and health and safety,” Robinson said.

Orr said to comply with the ban in Mill Valley, his workers use gasoline-engine leaf vacuums instead of blowers, and expects they would do that in Sebastopol too.

Orr also said there is a difference in gas-engine blowers. Older ones are noisier and produce more visible exhaust then the newer ones, which his company uses.

“They will allow electric blowers, but not gas. If noise is the issue, the electric blowers are just as noisy. If it is air pollution, where does the electricity come from? I don't know how to measure that,” Orr said.

The City Council meets at 6 p.m. Tuesday.