Lake Bluff panel backs narrower seasonal limits, simple registration for gas leaf blowers

The Village of Lake Bluff Sustainability and Community Enhancement Ad Hoc Committee on Feb. 18 recommended that Village officials amend the current seasonal restriction on gas-powered leaf blowers so the machines would be allowed only in April, October and November, and asked staff to explore a simple landscaper registration or sticker system to aid enforcement.

The recommendation follows two years of discussion by the committee and review at the Village Board’s Committee of the Whole. The committee also signaled support for extending a temporary school exemption for about one year rather than granting a permanent waiver, and requested more outreach to landscapers and residents to smooth a transition to electric equipment.

Committee members emphasized a stepped approach, moving from the village’s existing May 15–Sept. 30 seasonal ban to a nine-month-style restriction that would permit limited spring and fall cleanup windows. Member…