Providence hearing exposes sharp split between residents and landscapers over proposed ban on gas-powered leaf blowers

Chair Sue Anderboer called a public hearing of the Providence City Council special committee on environmental resiliency to hear comment on an ordinance to amend the city’s rules on gas-powered lawn equipment. Committee members, city staff and more than three dozen residents and business owners spoke at the session; no votes were taken.

The debate focused on two central questions: how quickly the city should phase out gas-powered leaf blowers and similar equipment, and how to support landscapers and small businesses through any transition. The city’s sustainability director said the administration supports the ordinance’s intent but recommended a single, clearer compliance date; landscapers, trade groups and equipment dealers said battery technology and charging infrastructure are not yet ready for a full commercial transition and warned of steep costs. Residents and public-health advocates said noise and fine-particle emissions pose ongoing health and quality-of-life harms that justify a faster timetable.

Priscilla Dela Cruz, director of sustainability for the City of Providence, told the committee the administration “absolutely supports the intent of the ordinance” but asked the council to “adjust the years” and provide a single uniform compliance date to…