Ban Leaf Blowers at Parkside Town Hall Sunday

[GetReal145]

Neighbors: Join me, Shepherd Bliss and others at the Sebastopol "Small Town" forum tomorrow 1 to 4 pm at Parkside elementary school, to let our city know that leafblowers are polluting and disturbing and unnecessary in our green, conscientious community. Dozens of other cities have banned them and it is time we did as well. Here are some great videos documenting the environmental hazards of leaf blowers

TV1 Ban leaf blowers in Sebastopol

[ian-snazz]

While the arguments made in the video are understandable, a couple good points go unmentioned:
1.Everything complaint about blowers could be made about weed-wackers.
How many people think that we should ban weed-wackers?

2. Where should we draw the line concerning banning of activities. Sebastapol is not a "small town", it's not even close. It's a suburb of major metropolitan areas. People are living close to other people there and people make noise sometimes. What do people think about lawn mowers, Harleys, etc.? Good luck banning loud Harleys. That would surely be "unamerican". I live on a road and guess what- there are cars driving on it and they are kind of loud. Ban cars because of noise?

Personally I don't really like the noise from any of those things, especially Harleys, but I made the choice to live here for now and I'm happy to deal with a few small annoyances. The one good argument against blowers is particulate matter in air. My advice to these folks is to move somewhere a little more rural, spacious, and quiet. Stop knit-picking please........

[GetReal145]

Thanks for the thoughtful response.

In my view, I find weed whackers are very different than leaf blowers in a number of important ways:

1) They do not blow hazardous, asthma inducing particles into the air constantly.

2) they are not nearly as loud

3) One does not need to use them for as long a period of time to get the job done

4) The alternative to a weed whacker is not a simple leaf take or broom; it is a hand clipper.

I have used rakes and brooms on large numbers of leaves. A good workout, a healthy outcome.

I have also used different mowers and weed whackers. A lot of noise for short bursts of time, infrequently. I now use an electric one and it is not nearly as harardous as a leaf blower.

The point is that we, as a community, through our lawts, draw lines on what behavior is permissible. I cannot drive my car outside your home at midnight with a boom box stereo in my car blasting music without getting a ticket. even if that appeals to me, we all agree that I should not have the right to disturb you. But that should I can wear headphones and listen as loudly as I choose, and ruin my hearing, this is nobody's business but mine.

Why should people have the right to use high decibel devices unnecessarily when their very usage significantly disturbs the environment of neighbors all around them, by causing noise pollution and air pollution?

While the arguments made in the video are understandable, a couple good points go unmentioned:
1.Everything complaint about blowers could be made about weed-wackers.
How many people think that we should ban weed-wackers?

2. Where should we draw the line concerning banning of activities. Sebastapol is not a "small town", it's not even close. It's a suburb of major metropolitan areas. People are living close to other people there and people make noise sometimes. What do people think about lawn mowers, Harleys, etc.? Good luck banning loud Harleys. That would surely be "unamerican". I live on a road and guess what- there are cars driving on it and they are kind of loud. Ban cars because of noise?

Personally I don't really like the noise from any of those things, especially Harleys, but I made the choice to live here for now and I'm happy to deal with a few small annoyances. The one good argument against blowers is particulate matter in air. My advice to these folks is to move somewhere a little more rural, spacious, and quiet. Stop knit-picking please........

[Zeno Swijtink]

Are there other ways of approaching this issue than through a City Ordinance?

One neighbor of mine uses a gas-powered leaf blower for ten minutes every so often during the leaf season but I am able to just accept that as being part of a semi-diverse neighborhood, and I haven't experienced this as a major neighborhood stressor.

I myself became the joint-owner an electric leaf blower when I married my sweethart Thalia last summer. I haven't used it yet (but I have used the also inherited rake) , and may have been inspired in that non-use by this campaign, and I am grateful for that.

But I haven't seen evidence that this is a major problem, worth the time of the City Council. They have so many other issues to attend to that seem to me more pressing.

We should be frugal in using the ordinance tool.

If leaf blowers are extensively used in town (which I am not yet convinced of) I also wonder about possible unintended consequences a new City Ordinance could have.

If they cannot use blowing air to remove leaves from their driveway some citizens (lazy, tired, or just in their sixties as I and Shepherd are) may start to use a water hose to do the work ...

Or if a tree came down some citizens may decide not to replant because leaves now have become a bother ...

To conclude and sum up. I think we can do better than copying some other towns such as Orinda (Orinda?? The folks in the video seem to be ready to step in their SUV when the interview is over to have some fun time in Disney Land or to gamble at a casino after having dropped off their kids with a nanny service) where they need ordinances to get folks being considered of each other.

Here is Sebastopol, I suggest, we will be able to deal with the leaf blower issue by communicating with our neighbors, giving tips on good and affordable electric blowers, having high school students offer a raking service for $8/h and all that good stuff that a truly community oriented town as Sebastopol excels in.

Neighbors: Join me, Shepherd Bliss and others at the Sebastopol "Small Town" forum tomorrow 1 to 4 pm at Parkside elementary school, to let our city know that leafblowers are polluting and disturbing and unnecessary in our green, conscientious community. Dozens of other cities have banned them and it is time we did as well. Here are some great videos documenting the environmental hazards of leaf blowers

TV1 Ban leaf blowers in Sebastopol