By Thane Grauel

WESTPORT — Discussion of a proposed ordinance regulating gas-powered leaf blowers Monday drew a group of landscapers who want a say in drafting final language of the policy.

The program, attended by about 60 people, took place at Wakeman Town Farm. The crowd included landscaping company owners and workers who filled more than two rows of seating in the audience.

“It’s important to note that this is not a ban on gas-powered leaf blowers,” said Kristin Schneeman, a Representative Town Meeting member from District 9, and one of the ordinance’s sponsors. “It’s a seasonal restriction. This is probably the most common approach in places around the country.”

Leaf blower noise, pollution targeted

A PowerPoint presentation to the gathering showed that gas-powered leaf blowers aren’t just noisy, but very polluting. 

One of the panelists, Valerie Seiling Jacobs, a lawyer and advisor with the non-profit Quiet Communities, said that using a gas-powered leaf blower for 30 minutes creates as much pollution as driving an F-150 pickup from Texas to Alaska.

The exhaust from leaf blowers contains several known carcinogens, she said, and they also are a main contributor to ground-level ozone.

“We have the worst ozone problem in the state of Connecticut,” she said. “During the summer, we had 12 days where the ozone level exceeded the EPA [Environmental Protection Agency] maximum. And not just by a little bit, folks, on five of those days were almost 30 percent over the maximum.”

Alice Ely, a master gardener involved with environmental causes, spoke about the effect gas-powered leaf blowers have on habitats.

“We have to rethink yard cleanup for the sake of all creatures,” she said. “Sterile gardens make for silent springs. We have to get rid of our appetite for perfect, manicured lawns.”

Ordinance still under review by RTM

If an ordinance is passed by the RTM, following more review by its committees and public hearings, Westport would join about 200 communities nationwide that regulate when and what equipment homeowners and landscapers can use.

The measure, as it stands now, would allow use of gas-powered blowers for two six-week periods annually — Nov. 1 to Dec. 15, and March 15 to April 30. The devices would be prohibited during all other weeks of the year.

Electric and battery-powered leaf blowers, which are not as noisy and less polluting, would be allowed year-round. There would be exceptions to the gas-powered rules for golf courses and public works projects, as well as during a state of emergency.

Gas-powered blowers would be restricted to one unit on properties smaller than an acre, two on parcels between one and two acres, and three on three-acre parcels.

Police would handle enforcement of the rules.

Landscapers concerned about scope of ordinance, cost to clients

John Sweeney of Westport, who owns a landscaping business, said the “a lot of the stuff you presented is somewhat factual, and true. But the way you’re spinning it into one, only leaf-blower, ban is a little bit concerning to us in the landscaping community.”

“We as landscapers need to be heard, which is what this is kind of about, but we also need to be involved with your decision making,” he said.

“There’s a lot of equipment, you can’t just ban one piece,” Sweeney added. “It’s like me taking your laptop away. It’s an efficient tool for the landscaper.”

Mike Switser of North Country Landscape Management, and representing the Connecticut Groundskeepers Association, said, “Many of you are probably used to pulling out the checkbook and writing big checks to clean big properties.

“I think it’s really going to hit a lot of people in the pocketbook, and a lot of those people may not be as well-heeled as some of the people who want to fight leaf blowers,” he added.

“I’m prepared to tell my clients it may be up to 75 or 100 percent more to clean the property” Switser said, contending that work would be more labor-intensive with electric tools.

Program organizers asked the landscapers to stay after the session ended so a meeting with them could be organized.