Napa Valley town joins Sonoma in powering off gas leaf blowers before California ban
California and some North Bay city bans and incentives are working to eventually send power tools like gas-powered leaf blowers and lawn mowers out to pasture.
Last month, state Gov. Gavin Newsom signed Assembly Bill 1346 into law, which phases out the manufacturing and selling of the instrumental tools for landscapers by 2024. The law will not apply to the gardening power equipment already in use.
But that’s just statewide.
In respect to the loudest of the power equipment, some Wine Country cities such as Sonoma and Yountville have beat the state with bolder maneuvers by banning the all-out use of gas leaf blowers within the city limits.
Contentious at the time among noise abatement-loving citizens and landscapers, Sonoma’s ban went into effect in December 2016. Since then, the ordinance that comes with a $250 fine on second violations has become a non-issue, according to Sonoma Planner Wendy Atkins.
“Everyone was all up in arms about it at first,” she said, adding the issue is hardly mentioned now. “And not too many people have violated it.”
In Napa Valley, Yountville prohibits use of the gas-powered landscaping tools and offers a credit to switch over to electric versions. On July 1, the town instituted a ban that carries a $1,000-per-incident penalty.
The town issued a program to provide credit for users to switch to electric as a way to ease into the restriction.
A landscaping company with a valid business license in the city may receive a reimbursement on the purchase of an electric version. One that manages between one and three commercial accounts may receive $200 by showing proof of purchase after March 1, and one with four or more customers may get $350.
“We’re ahead of the state on this. Because we banned all of them, we thought the credit would soften the blow,” Yountville Public Works Director John Ferons said.
Napa Valley Lawn & Garden Co. plans to seize on that incentive.
The 25-year landscaping company that manages about 240 clients in various cities throughout the Napa Valley is taking strides to move away from from gas-powered blowers.
Landscape designer and Manager Gianna Carrazco-Finch said her company has purchased one electric type that comes with a battery pack and hopes to add on another for its four crews before the statewide law goes into effect.
“But they’re very expensive,” she said.
They’re so costly, running up to $1,700 per blower, that San Rafael landscaper Francisco Aranjo predicts some companies in his industry will go out of business.
“Some won’t want to pay for it,” he said. “I’m pissed off.”
Aranjo suggested electric leaf blowers are more dangerous, providing the propensity for electrical shocks when using the plugged-in version and conditions are wet.
“There are going to be a lot of accidents, maybe deaths,” he said.
In business since 1994, the landscaper juggling 165 clients said the new state law will impose a heavy burden on getting jobs completed as landscapers use the same blower from job to job throughout the day.
“The charges take too long,” he said.
But for all the arguments against the change, others brought forth by government represent a bigger picture of the direction the state is headed toward in terms of climate change measures.
According to the California Air Resources Board, one hour of use of a gas-powered leaf blower emits the same amount of smog-forming pollutants as driving a light-duty passenger car over 1,100 miles in a 15-hour time span. That’s the distance between Los Angeles and Denver. Using a gas-powered lawn mower for one hour equates to driving the same vehicle three hours from L.A. to Las Vegas.
Small off-road engines, referred to as SORE, are spark-ignition engines rated at or below 19 kilowatts. (One horsepower equals nearly three-quarters of a kilowatt.) Engines at 25 horsepower in this category are primarily used for lawn, garden and other small, off-road equipment. All-terrain vehicles and motorcycles fit a different category.
More than 15 million SORE power tools exist in California.
“These combustible engine rules are consistent with the governor’s order for zero emissions,” said Christopher Dilbeck, CARB manager in the testing and certification division.
Still, Dilbeck pointed out to the Business Journal the new law is a phase-out, not an outright ban.
“People who have them can continue to use their equipment,” he said. “But the idea is to work toward a better, quieter, less dusty operation.”
The reason why the leaf blowers are so noisy is because of their inherent operation, he insists, adding that they tend to work more effectively at full blast, causing anyone within earshot to rage.
