Beginning April 1, gas-powered leaf blowers will be prohibited in Walnut Creek as part of the city’s effort to reduce air pollution and protect public health. City officials are encouraging residents to share information about the change with neighbors and landscapers to help with the transition.
According to the city, gas-powered leaf blowers produce high levels of pollution that can affect people nearby. Officials noted that Contra Costa County has higher-than-average asthma rates, particularly among children, and reducing emissions from equipment like gas-powered blowers could help improve air quality.
Violations of the ban could result in fines. A first offense carries a $100 fine, a second offense within a year can result in a $200 fine, and additional violations may be fined $500. The city says the property owner is responsible if gas-powered equipment is used on their property, even if the work is being done by a landscaper.
City officials also say switching from gas-powered landscaping tools to electric alternatives can help reduce greenhouse gas emissions and lower the community’s contribution to climate change.
Good. Gas leaf blowers are way noisier than electric ones. Banning them will improve everyone’s quality of life.
Electric blowers pollute more, sound just as horrible if not worse, and endanger the lives of the commercial employees. Actually, those things sound way worse. PERIOD.
Too bad the article clearly stated it only applies to gas powered devices so I guess not everybody’s quality of life improves Winston!
Try telling my neighbor’s dog that the electric leaf blower is not as loud or noisy.
He still wants to break through the fence to kill it.
Heck, … it’s even too much for me and I can’t hear out of one ear.
Started out as a noise issue with Work-from-home whiners complaining they couldn’t stand the constant noise in higher density complexes. Came to every Council meeting and whined. Council in its infinite wisdom said “I know, let’s call it a climate/asthma issue!” Action justified under its Climate Action plan! If asthma is so rampant, why not ban ALL two stroke engines then? Lawnmowers, edgers, trimmers, chain saws, etc? Tried to use this tactic to ban gas stoves too. Climate Change! Asthma! Knee jerk! Way to go Council!
so you will get to hear electric ones for twice the time…Great trade! (sarcasm) people are stupid.
Gas powered blowers are loud! Electric powered blowers are loud, and high pitched
metallic eardrum piercing shrill~~As Brothers & Cousins Mow & Blow businesses try
to raise rates, and lose customers ~~~ :
watch the leaves and small dead branches and home-cut brush pile up, blow down the
street; eventually small streams turn to rivers; street drains clog; then the streets flood….
and City Maintenance workers get the midnight overtime $$$…
Which means, It will eventually come right back to property owners and higher taxes.
Yup! shortsightedness.
funny
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/4CgGKpArEj8
Walnut Creek is focused on eliminating gas leaf blowers.
Meanwhile people burn wood in their fireplaces to reduce their horrendous winter PG&E bills. Which is worse for the environment?
This isn’t about the environment, it’s about money.
Yeah, woke dummies. Let’s jack up the cost of gardeners. They’ll have to buy new blowers, chargers, and batteries. They’ll pass the cost on to their clients.
And guess where they’ll have to plug in?
this is ridiculous to try and have better air quality and save the world meanwhile in india some guy is dumping battery acid into the street and drains but we have to drink out of a paper straw
This should solve the problem while most other cities across our country will be using blowers gas and electric powered. Virtue signaling is as usefull as wet toilet paper!
Apparently, no one has given any thought to the numerous small businesses that will need to make huge capital investments in new equipment to meet these draconian standards.
Battery-powered equipment is less efficient and more expensive to maintain than gas-powered equipment.
Increasing costs for lawn services will have to go up, smaller businesses will have to close, and all because some small-minded people can’t see the damage done by eliminating a small annoyance.
It’s called insider trading. On a massive scale.
Why not get rid of the trees then there would be no leaves and no need for blowers. problem solved.
…. a “solution” to a non-problem ….. I feel bad for the gardeners, landscapers, etc. that are already on a thin budget that need to go out and get expensive equipment that isn’t as effective and will take even longer to perform their work “subjecting” those that don’t like noise to even more as it will take longer…. I know from personal experience some battery / electric blowers are just as loud as gas blowers..
They have other machines called vacuums and rakes. Duh.
You have your own, and use them regularly? And use them to help with a few of your elderly
neighbors’ yards too? How Special!
BROOMS = JOBS !
Wonderful, get half way thru the job and battery dies.
Choice wait for recharge or rake and broom.
Have encountered rechargeable batteries if drained
too low, charger won’t charge them, yet once above
a minimal voltage level they’ll take a full charge.
Do not drain rechargeable batteries too far.
An what will happen to battery pack when
end of life is reached ?
Of course they’ll be ‘responsibly recycled’ . . . . . . . . . .
How about more garage fires charging up these batteries.
Emissions from gas powered lawn equipment.
There is a much larger problem.
.
‘Study: California Wildfires in One Year Erased 16 Years of Emissions Cuts’
https://shorturl.at/yrQLb
.
democrat politicians blame wildfires on “global warming”.
That excuse is, male bovine excrement.
When I was a kid we would rake all the leaves into a big pile and we’d burn them.
It was smokey and smelled, but it was quiet.
Whatever happened to just good old rakes for cleaning up leaves?
Have you ever tried to get leaves out of rocks ?
Whatever happened to raking leaves? All leaf blowers are loud and throw dirt and dust into the air. In the summer when many lawns are brown and dried out due to a lack of rainfall, I see Jose and Juan every other week on my street blowing dust around for hours. The lazy homeowners are clueless.
Re: blowers, to me this matters not one whit as I do not live in Walnut Creek, nor do I use leaf blowers (I am on the side of disliking them). What the curious side of me wonders, was this ban decided upon by the 5 elected officials of Walnut Creek, without input from WC citizens? Was this city council established to have this much say? What other things can they ban at will? Harley’s? Can they ban autos in an effort to reduce air pollution (ahead of the nut jobs in Sac)? Are gas lawn mowers next?
Gas anything is next.
They realize there is no money in it for them.
However crooked IPO’s and pump ‘n dump schemes for green companies is where the big money is. Every politician knows that……….