Lake Bluff committee backs seasonal limits, simple registration for gas leaf blowers; school exemption extended

The Village of Lake Bluff Sustainability and Community Enhancement Ad Hoc Committee recommended narrowing the town's seasonal restriction on gas-powered leaf blowers and adopting a simple landscaper registration system, while extending a school-district exemption for one year.

Committee members converged on permitting gas-powered blowers only in April, October and November and on asking staff to design an easy registration (a sticker or equivalent) that would accept licenses from neighboring communities such as Highland Park; they also agreed the village should ask the school district for a one-year extension to transition equipment. The committee discussed additional outreach to landscapers and residents and recommended convening regional peers to share implementation lessons.

The recommendation responds to a referral from the Village Board's Committee of the Whole, which in January asked the ad hoc committee to evaluate narrower seasonal windows and enforcement tools such as landscaper registration. The village's current ordinance already restricts gas-powered leaf blowers from May 15 through Sept. 30; the committee discussed moving from that interval toward a longer restriction while balancing landscaper capabilities and administrative capacity.

Commi…