Following is an update of activities in Orinda to ban leaf blowers. Residents there, like many of us in Sebastopol, seek to become one of the more than 400 U.S. cities that limit the painful and unhealthy leaf blowers. Please consider watching the Zero Air Pollution video mentioned below on their website and the new one that they plan to post in mid-Jan. Orindans are an inspiration to us about how to wage an effective campaign. They have a website, video, bumper stickers, petition, etc.

This issue of banning leaf blowers will not go away. Some try to dismiss, marginate, and minimize it, but it will not disappear in Sebastopol until we get an effective ban. For those of you who are environmentalists and support Sebastopol being green and sustainable, please consider reading some of the links below, including the 1000 page EPA report on Particulate Matter.

We are still in the early stages of launching the campaign here in Sebastopol and Sonoma County and welcome you to join us in whatever way you can.
Shepherd

From Peter Kendall, [email protected]

The entire text of this email has also been attached, as a Word 97-2003 document:

Dec. 31, 2009

Dear Friends,

First off, our very best wishes for a happy, healthy 2010 to you! Quiet Orinda has been, well, a little quiet lately- but deliberately so. Pausing for the holidays permits us to introduce our campaign early in 2010, and therefore gain maximum exposure and impact.

This email has two purposes: first, to update you on what we have accomplished so far, and second, to highlight all the work to be done, and entice you to volunteer in some way.

What We’ve Accomplished So Far

As you probably know, we produced and have finished the video called “Quiet Orinda.” Five families and QO members appear (actually, they sparkle!), as well as an M.D., plus a few leaf blower guys. We think you’ll really like the way Jeremy, our videographer ( Jeremy Williams - Videographer ), produced a professional-quality documentary, for both web and DVD distribution. For now, quietorinda.com is featuring the video from zapla.org, entitled “Leaf Blower Pollution” with voiceovers by actor Peter Graves. In mid January 2010, we’ll replace it with our own QO video.

Our new website at Home took much longer to create and debug than planned, but it’s now online. The main purpose of the website is to house our forum, where we invite and want members of the community to post their thoughts on anything related to leaf blowers in Orinda. Unlike the old Google Groups site (where we could sign up new members ourselves), you must visit quietorinda.com and register! If you haven’t yet done so, please take a moment to visit the site and register!

The banner at the top of the website is a panoramic view of the hills to the south, taken from our deck here on Via Hermosa. Together with the white-lettered “Quiet Orinda” in a distinctive font, it represents a logo of sorts. We’re going to try and use it for other materials (letterhead, flyer, bumper stickers).

In fact, we now have a small supply of bumper stickers on hand, some featuring the Quiet Orinda logo. Two different styles are displayed on Peter’s and my cars already.

QO member Maya McBride and Peter met for coffee with Amy Worth, one of five Orinda City Council members in early December. Amy went out of her way to explain how the ordinance-creation process works in our city. Peter contacted another councilman, Steve Glazer, and had a telephone chat with him as well. We think it’s a good idea for a QO member to have contact with each Orinda council member, prior to our approaching the city formally.

Several important points from our meetings with just these two Orinda council members:

Opposition arguments to a leaf blower ban (made when the Noise Ordinance was created in 2004) focused on property rights/civil rights, etc.

Many notes exist from the Noise Ordinance –Staff reports, and Meeting Minutes – and are now available online: https://orindaca.govoffice2.com/index.asp?Type=B_BASIC&SEC={41FCD3EA-1EEA-40CA-9E74-7A4EA6895E71} We were advised to review these documents for background.

City Council has to see that there is widespread support for action, before they will initiate a study of the matter and before they ask the city for resources to apply to that study. Evidence of support includes petitions, letters, emails, and personal appearances at Council meetings.

We have amassed and reviewed a huge collection of information and research about leaf blowers, health effects of noise and particulate matter (PM) pollution, community campaigns against leaf blowers, manufacturers’ strategies, landscaper association anti-ban tactics, and much more. Most fortuitous is the EPA’s release, just this month, of their 1000-page, multi-year research study called “Integrated Science Assessment for Particulate Matter.”
(Integrated Science Assessment for Particulate Matter (Final Report) | National Center for Environmental Assessment | US EPA)

The report was reviewed by a sympathetic-to-our-cause physician; he appears in our QO video, and we’ve videotaped him discussing a wide range of serious health consequences from exposure to particulate matter. His statements will be used in a follow-up video, highlighting why pollution from leaf blowers should compel any reasonable person to desire a ban (especially if they’re concerned about children!).

We have been in contact with the three local newspapers, and two area web-based news sites. All expressed willingness to cover our campaign fully, once we launch it in earnest.

Work to Be Done, and Where Do You Fit In?

If we are to have any chance of success, it will be due to our ability to organize ourselves, exploit and deploy our considerable talents and resources, and remain steadfast in our determination to reclaim our right to a quieter and healthier Orinda.

As soon as possible, we need to meet. There are community rooms in the Library available for groups like ours. We think several items should be dealt with (and we’re sure you can think of more):

1. Articulate what we stand for – what our objective is – a “Manifesto.”
2. Quick Summary of the five most dangerous health issues leaf blowers cause (Peter and the physician can do this)
3. Determination of logical sub-committees, designed to focus on:
- Organizing group meetings, city meetings, gatherings etc.
- Creation and Implementation of Poll and Petition Drives
- Media contact and letter writing
- Legislative liaison, including researching and compiling an up-to-date list of cities with bans or restrictions on leaf blowers (critical!)
- Synopsize research and create materials to educate Orindans on why leaf blowers should be banned.

4. Decide on a timeline for implementing the plans.

Most Important:

Setting the date for our first meeting: Let us know if any of the following three dates work for you. Just email us at [email protected] with your preference:

First Meeting Dates (suggested):

Thursday evening, Jan. 7
Saturday (time?), Jan. 9
Sunday afternoon Jan. 10

In summary, we’ve laid the groundwork. We have the components to launch the initial campaign. We need to meet, to plan and organize, and you need to commit to a date, and attend the meeting!
Please (if you haven’t already done so) register at the new site, Home.

Thanks so much for your interest, support, and civic-mindedness.

2010 will be the year of the rake and broom!
Susan and Peter