Leaf-blower debate revs up again in Sonoma

It’s a debate that doesn’t seem to blow over in Sonoma.

City Councilwoman Laurie Gallian has asked to bring back discussions on gas-powered leaf blowers after an attempt to ban them more than a year ago failed when then-Mayor Ken Brown reversed his vote at the last minute. His decision angered residents, but several have continued to push to prohibit their use in town, Gallian said.

“I don’t think it’s finished,” Gallian said about the debate.

In a recent phone interview, she said dozens have reached out to her about reviving the talks and voiced hope that the three newly elected council members - Madolyn Agrimonti, Gary Edwards and Rachel Hundley - would be willing to take a fresh look at the matter.

“These people have not expressed their opinion or heard from the public. This could breathe new life into the issue,” Gallian said.

It’s expected to come before the council for discussion on March 2.

Although it remains unclear whether the council will support a ban, Gallian said the meeting will provide a “temperature reading” on how far the issue could go this time around.

Hundley said she was “still researching the subject.”

So was Agrimonti, who said she had mixed feelings and needed to know more about the impacts of a possible ban.

“There are so many issues involved, (including) people’s employment,” said Agrimonti, adding that her husband is a retired landscaper. She also questioned whether it would be feasible to enforce a ban.

Edwards could not be reached.

In 2013, Mayor David Cook voted against the ordinance, saying that the matter should be put before the voters. Last week, he said he would like to see the issue re-vetted in front of the council.

“Coming to the council this many times, I think we really need to look at solving this problem,” Cook said.

“We’re a good community,” he added. “We need to figure out how we can make everybody happy in the end with our decision.”

Resident Shannon Dewees called a ban the “best route” in dealing with the noisy devices, although she also welcomed greater restrictions, such as limiting the hours or allowing them in neighborhoods only on certain days of the week. Their loud roars are heard in her eastside neighborhood four to five days a week and at all hours of the day, she said.

“Sometimes very early in the morning or later in the evening - It’s just disruptive,” she said.

“I understand the gardeners are trying to make the properties look nice. .?.?. But there are other ways to accomplish that,” Dewees said, adding that landscapers can use brooms and rakes to deal with the yard debris.

That’s not practical, argued Scott Anderson, who owns a landscaping business in town. He said it would take his employees much longer to complete the work with brooms and rakes. Customers would be forced to absorb the cost if workers have to spend more time on their lawns, he said.

“The blower is the most annoying tool, but a handy tool,” Anderson said. “We have to be quick, we have to be efficient. Without that blower, we can’t do any of that.”

Sonoma had a dust-up over leaf blowers in 2011.

Facing similar demands from residents, officials wrestled with the idea of a possible ban. The city’s Public Works Department raised concerns at the time, saying it would take longer for employees to clear away debris or cost the city about $10,000 to convert to electric blowers.

The council members ultimately opted to tighten restrictions rather than impose a ban. For example, they prohibited their use in residential areas on Sundays and holidays and reduced the maximum noise level from 90 decibels to 70.

Residents later complained landscapers weren’t always following the rules and the debate over a ban resurfaced in 2013, lead by screenwriter and author Darryl Ponicsan, who moved months after the measure failed.

“I moved out of Sonoma for just that reason,” Ponicsan, 76, said in a phone interview from his home in Palm Springs.

“I couldn’t have a cup of coffee in my backyard and read the paper. You couldn’t have anybody over during the day,” said Ponicsan, who worked out of his office and art studio on First Street East.

“There were times when I actually had to leave the house. You just couldn’t work,” said Ponicsan, who’s selling his France Street home in Sonoma.

Ponicsan had organized a petition hoping to get the town of 11,000 residents to join more than two dozen cities to ban gas-powered leaf blowers. It would have been the first in Sonoma County after an earlier push in Sebastopol failed. City officials there backed away from a ban in 2011 amid a public outcry but approved a noise ordinance that prohibits sounds above 55 decibels.

Ponicsan spent a summer collecting signatures at the farmers market - right next to the booth where Brown regularly meets with his constituents. Ponicsan said he attended meetings for eight months, taking the full three minutes allowed during the public-comment period to “put their feet to the fire.”

“I just pressed and pressed until they couldn’t ignore me anymore,” he said.

Three of the five council members backed a ban: Brown, Gallian and Steve Barbose. Cook ?and Tom Rouse were opposed, wanting to take the issue to the voters. When the ordinance came up for a second and final vote, Brown pulled the item from ?the consent agenda and cast the deciding vote against a ban?- a decision Ponicsan argued caused the longtime politician his re-election last November.

Brown said he doesn’t regret his decision. He called it a “class issue,” saying that a ban would have affected the working class.

“We made the right decision,” he said late last week.

He added that the city had adequate restrictions to deal with the noise.

“We just need to enforce the rules that we have,” Brown said.

The disdain over the leaf blowers isn’t about the noise alone, Gallian said. Concerns have been raised about the pollutants the devices emit and the allergens, pollen and other potentially harmful particles they stir up.

“It’s about health and quality of life,” Gallian said. “We have an aging demographic in Sonoma. We certainly have a lot of people who are respiratory compromised.”

You can reach Staff Writer ?Eloísa Ruano González at 521-5458 or eloisa.gonzalez@pressdemocrat.com.