Council Declines to Ban Leaf Blowers

The movement to ban leaf blowers in this city has run out of steam.

The Oxnard City Council has decided to forgo a proposal to restrict the use of the noisy gardening tools, opting instead to encourage local landscapers and residents to work together on noise and air pollution problems.

About a dozen landscapers turned out at Tuesday’scouncil meeting to defend their tools, saying complaints about noise and health problems are overblown.

“You’d think gardeners would be dropping like flies, “ landscaper David Katayama said. “They’re at ground zero exposure-wise, eating dust on a daily basis--with no ill effects.”

Other gardeners made similar arguments, saying noise complaints are infrequent and that they try to finish jobs quickly to limit disturbances. They argued that a leaf blower ban might cause prices to rise, because cleaning with rakes would require more labor.

By contrast, there was little opposition to the leaf blowers at Tuesday’s meeting. A local pastor who spearheaded a petition drive against gas-powered blowers was not present. Council members read a couple of complaints submitted by opponents.

Acknowledging the gardeners’ concerns, city officials suggested forming a community training program to teach owners of the machines how to operate them with the least amount of noise.

“I would have a problem with an outright ban,” Councilman Dean Maulhardt said. “It seems like an awfully extreme measure. Common courtesy and working with each other would probably take care of it.”

Added Councilman Bedford Pinkard: “The gardeners can govern themselves.”