Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Alexandria council backs staff study and phased ban on gas-powered leaf blowers, asks staff to return with ordinance and cost plan
Summary
After a multi-hour discussion, Alexandria City Council gave staff general direction to draft an ordinance to phase out gas-powered leaf blowers, seek community outreach and support for small businesses, and return in spring with specific ordinance language and budget impacts.
City Council on Jan. 28 directed staff to pursue drafting an ordinance to phase out gas-powered leaf blowers in Alexandria, following a detailed presentation on noise, air-quality and enforcement issues.
The proposal presented by Bill Scribe, deputy director in the Department of Transportation and Environmental Services, recommended banning gas-powered leaf blowers (but not other lawn equipment), using a multiyear phase-out, and staging targeted outreach for homeowners and commercial landscape operators. "If you desire to more regulate, gas powered leaf blowers, staff's recommendation is ... to actually ban the use of gas powered leaf blowers," Scribe said during the presentation (s:6143.4453–s:6176.77). He added that the city had received a legal opinion from the Virginia attorney general confirming the city’s charter authority to impose such a ban (s:6060.91–s:6096.86).
Why it matters: Gas-powered blowers are the most frequent complaint to the city's noise program, produce higher decibel levels than most other lawn equipment, and emit pollutants associated with…
Already have an account? Log in
Subscribe to keep reading
Unlock the rest of this article — and every article on Citizen Portal.
- Unlimited articles
- AI-powered breakdowns of topics, speakers, decisions, and budgets
- Instant alerts when your location has a new meeting
- Follow topics and more locations
- 1,000 AI Insights / month, plus AI Chat
