IRVINE : Inspectors Try to Bag Illegal Leaf Blowers

A team of 22 city inspectors fanned through the city this week in search of gardeners lacking permits for leaf blowers, which the City Council has labeled “aural assault weapons.”

More than 100 gardeners and other maintenance workers have already received notices warning them about Irvine’s week-old law regulating the blowers, officials said.

Warnings will continue during the law’s first 30 days to encourage blower operators to be tested and certified, said Robert Storchheim, Irvine’s manager of building and safety.

“Should they not heed our warnings,” Storchheim said, “we will have no other option than to cite them in a court of law. Then it will be up to a judge.”

Violators could face a misdemeanor fine of up to $500, plus a six-month jail term.

The ordinance requires all blowers to have a city-affixed permit certifying that their noise levels do not exceed 70 decibels at maximum speed. Commercial operators must also carry a permit proving that they have attended a courtesy training class.

Nearly every violator caught so far lacked both an operator’s license and a permit for the blower itself, code-enforcement inspector Natalie Daleo said. The city’s 22 building inspectors have been asked to scout out illegal users on their regular rounds.

The warnings issued so far appear to be having the desired effect, Storchheim said: More operators have been coming to City Hall to have their blowers tested and to sign up for the operator’s class.

Irvine’s ordinance is considered the nation’s strictest regulation, short of outright bans.

The ordinance also restricts blowers from being used before 8 a.m. or after 5 p.m. weekdays and before 9 a.m. Saturdays. All Sunday use is illegal. And they may not be operated within 10 feet of any window or door, to cut down on the amount of noise, dust and fumes that invade homes.