LAGUNA BEACH : Council to Consider Ban on Leaf Blowers

After complaints that leaf blowers are polluting the air and shattering nerves, the City Council will consider restrictions or an outright ban next week.

The issue has placed the city, which uses leaf blowers, on the defensive. City Manager Kenneth C. Frank said a wholesale return to rakes and brooms would be too expensive and could lead to a lower standard of cleanliness.

The council action will follow a nine-month study conducted by a neighborhood group that has proposed a ban on the blowers, including those used by city employees.

“The noisy polluting power blower is not compatible with Laguna’s ambience,” concludes the report by the Laguna North Neighborhood Assn.

According to the report, blower operators move daily through city streets, “often with sensitivity for no one,” creating “a cloud of dust, dirt and manure.”

“He removes no dirt,” according to the report. “He just moves it from one surface to another.”

Councilwoman Ann Christoph, who asked that the matter be discussed, said she has been approached repeatedly by residents annoyed by the gardening tools.

“People stop you in the street and say, ‘What are you doing about the blowers?’ ” she said. “You don’t get that many unsolicited opinions usually.”

Christoph said options open to the council include a total ban, allowing only electric blowers or restricting the decibel level or hours of operation.

A number of other cities and communities in Orange County have already moved to either ban or limit the use of leaf blowers.

Frank said it would be very difficult to eliminate all use of power blowers in town, particularly on sandy walkways to the beach. “There are some places we are just going to need to continue using the blowers, I think,” he said. “If we don’t use a blower, we’re going to have to use a broom, and we’d have to add more people to do that.”

The city has cut back on its use of blowers, according to Frank, with gardeners now sweeping in front of City Hall.

Ultimately, Frank said, the city will have to decide whether to spend more money for maintenance workers or accept a lower standard in cleanliness.

The report from the neighborhood association also states that the city could be facing additional lawsuits as residents become “more aware of harm to respiratory systems, eyes and hearing.”

As alternatives, the report suggests the use of brooms or “powered garden vacuums” and adopting a new philosophy about cleanliness.