Residents urge Lake Bluff trustees to expand gas-powered leaf-blower ban to nine months

Dozens of Lake Bluff residents urged the Village Board of Trustees on Sept. 8 to expand the village—s partial ban on gas-powered leaf blowers to nine months, beginning Dec. 1, 2025, arguing the longer restriction would reduce noise, air pollution and harm to birds and trees.

The appeals came during the meeting—s public-comment period, where speakers handed the board a petition they said contained more than 430 resident signatures and noted 13 people present in the meeting in support of a longer ban. "Just do it. Start the ban 9 months beginning December 1," Pam Russell said to the trustees.

The requests followed prior village action that the speakers said has already produced a quieter summer; several speakers asked the board to make the restriction longer and to reduce hours of permitted use. "After 7 years of our attending discussions on this issue and celebrating positive progress with a partial ban, it seems the board is now pursuing delay after delay," Russell said. Mike Buschio, another resident, said the proposed longer ban would align with the village—s environmental priorities, listing Lake Bluff—s Tree City USA and Bird City USA recognitions and saying the devices do not fit that community vision.

Other speakers described health and quality-of-life impacts. Jennifer Levinthal said she suffers seasonal allergies and that blower emissions and dust worsen her symptoms, while Luciana Titanic said enforcement of the current six-month ban this year reduced noise and commended police for the enforcement. "This year was so much better than last year," Titanic said.

Village staff and trustees said they want to make a policy choice supported by data and consistent with neighboring communities. Staff member Drew (no job title given in the meeting record) told the board that regional municipalities had discussed commissioning a local study to measure whether battery-powered equipment is sufficient for spring and fall cleanups. An initial third-party proposal, the staff summary said, came in above $100,000 for spring and fall testing; the remaining interested municipalities later estimated a probable cost of about $15,000 per community. The staff summary identified both industry-led and government-run study proposals but did not commit the village to funding the study.

President Regis Charlot said the board—s intent is to reach the right decision based on evidence. "We want data backing up what we're doing today. We're not saying we resist this effort. We want to do the right thing," he told the audience.

Speakers urged the board not to let further study delay immediate action to align Lake Bluff with nearby communities that already use longer bans. Nancy Delvo told trustees the 11-community government-run study is available on the Highland Park website and that most nearby towns now allow a nine-month restriction with one spring month and two fall months for limited use.

The meeting record shows no formal change to the ordinance at the Sept. 8 meeting; residents and some trustees said staff would return with more information. Trustees and staff repeatedly stressed the need to balance enforceability, local conditions (tree species and climate), and expectations of landscapers.

If the board decides to pursue a longer ban, any change to the village code or enforcement practices would be a future agenda item requiring formal board action.