200 Gardeners Sound Off Against Ban on Leaf Blowers

More than 200 angry gardeners marched a mile and a half in bare feet Tuesday to protest a pending city ban on gas-powered leaf blowers, which they contend will leave them impoverished.

The ban, approved by the Los Angeles City Council in December but delayed from taking effect until next January, is intended to combat the noise generated by the machines.

But the gardeners who walked from Westlake to City Hall said the ban threatens their livelihood. In the rally, organized by the Assn. of Latin American Gardeners, they marched shoeless to symbolize the ban as “virtually taking our shoes and the shirts off our backs,” said spokesman Adrian Alvarez.

“I have a wife and four children to feed,” said gardener Roman Campos. “If the city won’t let us do our jobs, they will be forcing us to go on welfare.”

The ordinance bans the use of gas-powered blowers within 500 feet of a residence and imposes fines of up to $1,000 and jail terms of up to six months on those who violate it.

Instead of outlawing the blowers, the gardeners suggested adopting restrictions on the hours that the blowers can be used and the level of noise the machines are allowed to make.

“The city doesn’t need an outright ban,” said gardener Terry James, 39. “We have proposed a set of regulations that we think is fair to both parties and that has worked in other cities,” he said.

The Assn. of Latin American Gardeners was formed after passage of the ordinance and has about 2,700 members, Alvarez said.

Councilman Richard Alarcon said the gardeners’ concerns should be heard by a City Council task force that has yet to meet. “It’s getting down to crunch time and we need to meet,” he said.