Gas Blower Ban Takes Effect; Results Mixed

Depending on which end of the leaf blower you face, Friday was to be the first day of blessed calm or raked hell.

It turned out to be more like purgatory, as Los Angeles’ ban on gasoline-powered leaf blowers became the law of the city, with, well, mixed effect.

In some neighborhoods gardeners reluctantly left their gas blowers in the back of their pickup trucks, turning to rakes, hoses and occasionally electric blowers to clear away the debris of recent rains.

In other areas, they took their chances and cranked up the gas machines for a quick blast or scooted into backyards with them, where they were out of sight, if not earshot.

“I guess I’m just going to keep using it until they catch me,” George Sakatani said as he worked with his crew of four in the Porter Ranch area of the San Fernando Valley.

The city’s newly established hotline for blower complaints was not quite ready--it won’t be in operation until next week--meaning that the first day of the city’s primary enforcement effort was guided by members of the street maintenance staff.

By late afternoon they had received just 29 calls complaining of blowers and many more from gardeners wondering how the law will be enforced. Other callers challenged the ordinance as unfair, and one hissed an anonymous threat, illustrating once again how emotional this matter of a garden tool has become.

“The mild ones say, ‘Why don’t you leave them alone? They’re only trying to make a living,’ ” said Jeannette Arnold, who was supervising the clerks.

“We’ll come out there and pour gas over you and burn you,” one not so mild opponent of the ordinance told the clerk who answered his call.

For the gardeners, who insist that they can’t clean enough yards to make a living without the noisily efficient gas blowers, Friday was a day of calculating the economics of defiance versus compliance: They could keep using the machines and risk a $270 fine. Or they could work more slowly with rakes and hoses, servicing fewer yards.

Jose Granados decided to leave his machine at home. “I know [some gardeners] that said they would take the risk, but I can’t. I don’t want to give away my daily earnings,” Granados said as he and a helper worked a Northridge neighborhood.

Likewise, Javier Urbina, 32, resigned himself to life without a gas blower.

“It’s really tough to make it in this country, and this was the main tool we had,” said Urbina, as he and his partner Alfonso Espinoza raked a yard in Pacific Palisades. “But what can we do? The law is the law.”

Urbina, who charges up to $25 per yard visit, said he had not increased his rates to make up for the extra work. He has friends who asked clients for more money, only to lose the jobs.

He bought an electric leaf blower for $110 last summer, when the ban was first introduced, but he can only use it at houses with outside outlets.

Down the street, Santana Florez employed a similar electric blower to clear leaves from a back patio, carefully stepping around the long gray electrical cord plugged into the side of the house. The low hum of the small machine sounded like a vacuum cleaner.

“It works OK, but it doesn’t have enough power,” said Florez, 36. “When I can’t use this, I’ll use water.”

Some gardeners said they didn’t want to bother with the small electric blowers because they are less powerful than the gas ones and could be dangerous around water. Others worried that during water shortages, they would lose the hose as well.

“We can’t do our job as quickly as before, but what do the owners care?” said Israel Belasco, 36, pulling a rake out of his van in front of a Pacific Palisades house. He said he used to do about 15 jobs a day, but without the leaf blower can only do 10, meaning that he will have to work on Saturdays to finish all his yards.

In Brentwood, homeowner Renata Landres said she has been warning her gardeners for the last few weeks that the law would soon be enforced.

“I keep telling them to sweep instead,” said Landres, an assets manager. “They said they would, but I know it’s a lot of extra work. I do feel for their situation--they need to make a living. But I’m also environmentally conscious, and I know what those machines do. I just hope they can market a better blower that’s more affordable.”

Those most afraid of being cited were independent gardeners who would have to pay the fine themselves. Those working for someone else said they would use the gas machine if their bosses ordered them to, because the fine would not come out of their pockets.

“I’m not afraid. The boss pays,” said Joel Martinez, 24, taking a break from blowing leaves away from a backyard pool in the San Fernando Valley. “If [my boss] tells me to use it, I’ll use it,” he continued. “I’m violating the law. I understand that. But I’m not doing anything wrong. I’m trying to earn a living.”

Some said they would continue to use the blowers for a week or two, while City Hall meetings continue over developing alternatives to the gas machines.

Meanwhile, on Friday state Sen. Richard G. Polanco (D-Los Angeles) introduced legislation that would override Los Angeles’ new ordinance by placing the blowers under state regulation and setting noise standards for them. Cities and counties would be barred from banning daytime use of blowers that met that standard.

Even if the L.A. ban remains as is, some doubted it will be enforced.

“A lot of guys say they’re going to use it in the backyard,” said Kim Chul, who is letting his two workers use the blowers. “Who’s going to give the tickets? The police?”

Could be.

During roll call at police stations throughout the city Friday, patrol officers were reminded that the much-debated and delayed ordinance was finally going into effect.

Watch commanders said they had gotten only scattered calls about blower violations Friday morning, but were prepared to send patrol cars out to answer complaints. In Pacific Palisades, a hotbed of blower opposition, one officer had been designated to answer the calls--although none had come in as of noon.

Police said blower violations will be handled like traffic infractions. Officers have the option of issuing a warning or a citation, so long as they witnessed or--more accurately--heard the offense.

“They don’t hear it--there’s nothing they can do,” said Sgt. Francisco Hurtado of the Wilshire station.

For now, calls to the city hotline blower number--(800) 996-CITY--are being routed to staff in the street maintenance bureau. Many of them came from the gardeners themselves.

“One gardener called and said, ‘How are you going to treat us?’ ” said Robert Barron, 40, an inspector who pitched in to field calls. “I said, we’re not going to go out there like gangbusters with a SWAT team. We’re not going to treat you like criminals. Our goal is willing compliance.”

By Tuesday, the office hopes to have the hotline phone system working with an operator and a tape that can take complaints 24 hours a day. The tape will ask for the address of the violation, the date and time it was observed, the name and phone number of the gardener, the license plate of the truck and any company name, and the name and phone number of the person making the complaint.

The investigations will be handled by one of 22 inspectors from the bureau, each of whom already is responsible for 200 miles of streets in his or her region.

“We’re going to hold our breath and see if we can accomplish this without additional resources,” James Washington, a chief street inspector, said.

Inspector Jonathan Roberts said any gardener caught in the act will be fined $270. So will the homeowner or whoever contracted the service.

The rest will receive warnings spelling out the new ordinance.

“We’re still in the education phase,” Roberts said. “Ultimately, people will start using electric leaf blowers.”

Times staff writers Matea Gold and Jose Cardenas contributed to this story.