Recently San Mateo Mayor Brandt Grotte has come out publicly for banning leaf blowers in our city, according to a Daily Journal article.
I can understand his dislike of the contraptions. They are noisy, when used improperly blow dust about, and are many times (though not all) gas powered thus emitting pollutants.
So, Mr. Mayor, I have a couple of questions:
- Will we be banning street sweeping vehicles? They blow more dust around than you would believe. In fact, it requires me to use precious water resources to clean after their twice monthly visit. In fact, if you happen to be out walking on the adjacent sidewalk, you are covered in dust as the sweeper moves by. And they are very noisy.
- This means the city does not use any kind of gas powered blower right? Not even in our parks? After all, we lead by example.
- Is the goal purely to help the residents go green? Or is it about the noise, the interruption of your peace and quiet. As far as going green, I have some input to share later in this opinion piece. The noise is really about courtesy. Rude people with a lack of consideration towards other people are a sad fact in this world. However a ban to help them learn to be polite seems excessive. But please, do continue as we have so much excess money in the coffers to waste on a whim of manners.
If I sound pissy, it is because I am. In San Mateo we have actual crime, actual hunger, actual infrastructure issues. I am paid to write an opinion. My opinion is that the crows screaming from the tree incessantly are a far noisier interruption to my daily life than leaf blowers. However, I don't want them removed. Although I have been known to run outside yelling shoo crow and waiving my arms from time to time, they are part of the flora and fauna of my neighborhood. Sometimes the solution is more annoying for my neighbors than the problem.
Since their development in the 1970s, to a large extent, leaf blowers have supplanted brooms, hoses, and rakes. Leaf blowers even perform functions that no other tool can handle effectively, such as cleaning areas covered by rock, gravel, bark, or mulch.
Leaf blowers save enormous amounts of time. Ignoring the landscaping blogs of the same opinion, I found it took 5 times longer to clean 2 yards with a broom and rake than it does with a power leaf blower.
Time is money. We could reasonably estimate that landscape costs (and therefore charges) would increase if operators must perform the same functions without a leaf blower.
As many landlord clients can’t afford or are not willing to pay for the additional costs of performing lawn and landscape maintenance without leaf blowers. They would either allow their landscapes to deteriorate, do the work themselves, or find companies willing to violate the law. Let's use 25th Avenue for an example, After working on 25th for 20 years I found only 1 landlord even bothers to perform outdoor maintenance and it includes a leaf blower. The Patio Shops Courtyard is cleaned and watered by a hired company each Saturday morning before the local businesses open. I suspect this pride of ownership cost increase would be passed on to the shop renters after a ban.
The leaf blower is an alternative to hosing down walks and driveways with water. Using water in this manner is an unreasonable waste of a precious natural resource. The reality is that people always will take the next easiest course of action when one course of action is closed to them. Hosing down walkways and driveways is much easier, quicker, and more efficient than broom-cleaning those surfaces.
Leaf blowers make no more noise than many other types of power equipment. So if we are serious about the noise reduction, please include chain saws, power saws and the like. I hear those all through the week at my home.
Of course, I acknowledge that leaf blowers can be a nuisance. However, I believe the culprits are good old common courtesy and education of proper use of the equipment. Both problems can be remedied by means other than indiscriminate bans. For example, generally speaking, leaf blowers should be run at half throttle most of the time. Low throttle speeds not only significantly reduce noise, but they also provide the operator with maximum control. Full throttle is seldom necessary.
So in my humble yet loud opinion I add the following:
- Leaf blowers should not be used in residential areas at unreasonable hours — early in the morning or late at night when people are likely to be disturbed.
- Debris should never be blown onto adjacent property, the street, vehicles, people, or pets.
- Leaf blowers should not be used within 10 feet of doors or windows.
- Crews should operate only one leaf blower at a time on small residential sites.
- Rakes or brooms should be used to loosen heavier debris.
- The full nozzle extension should be used so the air stream can work close to the ground.
- The muffler, air intakes, and air filers should be checked routinely to make sure they are working properly.
- Leaf blowers should not be used to move large debris piles from one spot to another.
Most of these common sense suggestions are already covered in our San Mateo City Code.
In closing, let me invite you to my home.
I live on 24th Avenue in a modest house. The yards include a Silk Oak tree, Apple tree, Apricot tree, 2 Hawthorns, 3 Pines, 2 Locust tree, a Crab apple tree, 2 lawns, vegetable beds, flower beds, 2 patios, 1 beehive, and a partridge in a pear tree (Just check to see if you are still awake). I work full time plus write for our San Mateo Patch. My spouse, having recently had 2 bypasses in 5 weeks, is temporarily disabled. I allow my lawns to be mowed every other week. And every other week I allow use of a leaf blower. The landscapers are not allowed to work earlier than 10am and no later than noon. They also sweep and rake.
Without them the overall appearance to my home's front and back yards would deteriorate drastically unless I took up raking in my sleep. (This is where the invite comes in) Unless you are going to come on over and sweep and rake for me...
If you have an opinion about the leaf blower topic, click here to take our San Mateo Patch poll!
You also say that we can solve the problem through other methods. How do you propose we make this happen? Who is going to pay for the education and enforcement of the guidelines you establish? It seems like this will be much more expensive and less effective than enforcing an outright ban.
With over 56% of the United States in severe drought, Artic Ice shelfs of enormous size falling off into the ocean, THOUSANDS of fish dead today in Arkansas due to extreme heat and environmental degragation in every corner of the world you choose to say "Blow Baby Blow" to say a few bucks and rid your lawn of leaves. Do you want your grandchildren to have any prayer at existence? Anyone with even partially open eyes has a clue of what needs to be done and banning leaf blowers is a noble start that the mayor has proposed. Good going Brandt.
I actually did speak to my neighbors before starting service. You are right also it does still cause some pollution. I bike to work, grow & can veggies & fruit, refuse to cut down healthy trees, plant bee, bird, & butterfly friendly plants, among other things to offset my bit of pollution. I appreciate your taking the time to share your opinion also!
Thank you for the read & comment. Sometimes moderation is the way I go, but I apreciate your opinion.
Here are a few points that I considered when circulating the petition. The pollution from an hour of operation of a leaf blower is about the same as an 8 hour car ride. (http://www.arb.ca.gov/msprog/leafblow/leafblow.htm); leaf blowers destroy the soil around plants as gardeners blow away valuable vegetable matter that adds to the health of the soils' bugs and microbes; and the dust - which means windows have to be cleaned more often and increases the turbidity of our breathing air. and lastly the noise - especially when used improperly. Perhaps it should be a phased approach - maybe some electric. In San Mateo it is already a violation to use a leaf blower on Sunday. My observation is that gardeners use them because it is part of their job - not because there is necessarily a need. There is no question (like the plastic bags we consume) that these noisy fume makers are wasteful and harmful to humans and the planet and reduces the quality of life for all. I think the Mayor is on the right track. Perhaps you can show the intended language and the petition in your next column.
I appreciate the link and info. However, I was unable to find a current petition online. Perhaps you could post the link? As to my treatment of the subject, I am happy to hear your opinion. A couple of points. I tried it several times in my unscientific yard duties and yes it was 5 times. I do not support the use of plastic bags. I don't particularly feel the need to defend my actions, it is just the opinion of one old bag (not plastic) here in town. You are right when misused it causes all that you stated. Although I found the battery operated to reduce many of those problems but not all. I'm sorry you found it shallow. Perhaps under different circumstances I too would have the luxury of not using them at all. I would very much like to read the petition.
Denise, if we aren't able to give up unessential conveniences like the gas-powered leaf blower, how do you suggest we begin to make the larger sacrifices necessary to keep the earth from warming??? http://cleanair.trilithon.com/pages.blowers/soot.spew.html
You're very light on consideration of how others are affected by debris blower pollution, and very heavy on how much YOU are benefiting from blowers. Much of your argument comes straight from the mouth (and site) of the blower industry's lobbyist, Larry Will. Count us as unpersuaded by your "moderation."
"The idea that leafblowers save time - which is the one and only argument for using them - is outrageous, since it implies that the time stolen from the rest of us is worthless."
Sometimes you are right and sometimes not. In this case, listening to all of you I realize my convenience is at your expense, even when I thought I was being considerate with my use. When the majority of people will benefit even at a cost to a few, it's time to change. So change I will. I cannot lie and say I will be happy about it. But still thanks for the comments. I have to go rake now.
But there is a balance that must be addressed. As there are people/families that relies in part these leaf blowers. Plus they are not high on the economic scale, so reducing their ability to maintain their income is an issue that must be addressed Not just the exhaust, nor the noise, which by themselves is bad enough, but that some of the dust is considered a hazard material. Mainly from airborne fallout...like SMOG. The 'stuff' vacuumed up by the street sweepers is collected at the city yard and then trucked to a hazmat site Also the customers of those required to use leaf blowers. 'Required' as their customers will most likely not take kindly to the increased fees. Plus the gardeners will not be able to service as many homes, so they lose revenue there too.
= so the mistake was mine.
Thanks for adding to this discussion. I agree that those workers using the leaf blowers are likely not getting wealthy doing it but I have an economic issue with the cost of leaf and debris clearing using these polluting dust and pollen relocates. Do you recall anybody getting a rebate, discount or any kind of a service reduction when these devices came on the market as a result of the vast time savings? I don't. One may be lead by this fact (no initial cost reduction) to assume there is no cost difference. Of course this would be in error but think about it. For many years the yard maintenance people have able to take on many more clients and make much more money... Just kicking this around. By the way, I just got home from having my car washed only to see my neighbors gardener firing up his blower. Typically this leaves the inside as well as the outside of my vehicle coated with my neighbors debris. Tis time I was ale to close my windows and ask them to clean the car off before they leave. A rare catch on the car... I forgot that because it's a warm day all of my homes windows were open. Oh well.