Narberth council weighs leaf‑blower ban and leans to mirror Lower Merion
Get AI-powered insights, summaries, and transcripts
Subscribe
Summary
After years of EAC review and resident complaints, Narberth council discussed mirroring Lower Merion’s phased ban on gas leaf blowers—council signaled support for aligning timelines while asking staff for enforcement, contractor-support and noise/health data before ordinance drafting.
Narberth Borough Council spent the Nov. 6 work session on a detailed discussion of a proposed ordinance to phase out gasoline-powered leaf blowers, focusing on whether to mirror a draft ordinance from neighboring Lower Merion.
EAC Chair Joe said the advisory committee has studied the issue for years and recommended phasing out gas blowers as quickly as feasible. "So the EAC has been looking at this now for about a couple of years," Joe said, summarizing the committee’s work on health and environmental impacts and on municipal experience with electric landscaping equipment.
Council members asked practical questions about the proposed three‑year phase‑out and the Lower Merion timeline that starts with seasonal restrictions and moves to a full ban. Several members urged aligning Narberth’s schedule with Lower Merion to ease enforcement and avoid drafting a separate, potentially inconsistent framework; one councilor said, "let Lower Merion be the canary in the coal mine," noting the possibility of early litigation. Another noted the difficulty of enforcement and urged a short runway for contractors to transition equipment.
Director of Public Works Jeff addressed feasibility and equipment power: he told council that municipal operations have already moved to electric landscaping tools and that some commercial electric blowers can meet performance needs. On enforcement, the borough solicitor’s draft treats violations as code infractions, with a first violation resulting in a warning and later steps leading to citation. The police can assist on weekends and code enforcement would handle weekday complaints.
Council gave staff direction to monitor Lower Merion’s final text and litigation outcomes, to assemble enforcement and outreach plans (including contractor assistance and a recommended equipment list for the public), and to return with a local draft and cost/implementation information. Council President said there was consensus to follow Lower Merion’s rollout timeline unless legal counsel recommends changes.
The council did not adopt ordinance language or take a formal recorded vote at the session; it asked staff to prepare outreach materials and bring a draft ordinance back for a future meeting.