San Mateo council directs staff to draft citywide prohibition on gas leaf blowers with 9‑month transition

The San Mateo City Council on Oct. 6 directed staff to prepare an ordinance that would prohibit the use of gas-powered leaf blowers across the city and return with specific language on hours of operation, a recommended enforcement start date and penalty structure.

Andrea Chow, sustainability analyst for the City of San Mateo, told the council that state rules already require new model years of 2024 or later to be electric. "As of 2024, state regulations require that new model years of 2024 or later leaf blower equipment be electric," Chow said, noting the state rule does not cover existing gas machines. Chow said the city has fully transitioned its own equipment to electric using Peninsula Clean Energy grant funds.

The nut of the council's direction: staff should draft a citywide prohibition while returning with options that balance residential and commercial needs, set an enforcement ramp that begins no sooner than nine months after ordinance adoption, and include discretion to assess penalties against property owners and/or landscaping companies. Several council members asked staff to bring back suggested hours tailored to commercial and residential contexts rather than drafting a single, inflexible schedule.

Council members and residents emphasized health, noise and climate reasons for the move. "I'm a thousand percent in favor of introducing this ordinance," Council member Lisa Diaz Nash said during the discussion, calling the measure a priority for public health and quality of life. Members of Quiet Clean San Mateo urged quick action and neighbor-to-neighbor outreach; Carol Wilhelmi, a Quiet Clean volunteer, said community-led conversations would help ease the transition. Resident Mike Swire described gas leaf blowers as "amongst the most inefficient and polluting engines in existence," and urged a rapid changeover.

Staff outlined existing incentives and enforcement tools. The city currently offers rebates up to 75% of purchase price (maximum $500) for landscaping businesses and up to 50% (maximum $100) for residents; staff reported average annual distributions of about 19 residential rebates (average $79) and 4 business rebates (average $400), with a 2024 peak of 46 rebates and an average total of roughly $3,200 per year. Chow said other jurisdictions had delayed active enforcement to allow transitions: Burlingame delayed enforcement nine months; Menlo Park delayed 12 months. San Mateo staff recommended a minimum nine-month delay between ordinance adoption and active citation.

Chow and code enforcement staff described enforcement limitations: code officers must witness violations to issue citations and many leaf-blower uses are short-lived. The city’s administrative citation process (Municipal Code Chapter 1.1) typically issues a warning before escalating fines that begin at $100 and can rise to $200 and $500 per occurrence. Staff told the council that the city could send courtesy notices when complaints arrive but enforcement citations generally require staff verification.

Council members asked staff to ensure outreach to landscaping businesses, small hardware stores and renters, and to coordinate rebate and charging options (for example, allowing landscapers to charge equipment at homes during service visits). The council asked staff to return with a proposed ordinance and with concrete options for citywide hours of operation and any narrowly tailored exceptions (for example, safety-related early-morning work in parking garages).

The council agreed the ordinance and specific hours should be revisited after implementation; multiple members asked staff to return with a two-year follow-up report. Staff will draft ordinance text reflecting the direction and return to council for public hearings and a formal vote.