Council Rejects Proposed Leaf-Blower Ban

LAGUNA NIGUEL â€”  A proposal that the City Council consider regulating or banning leaf blowers was rejected Tuesday night.

The issue arose when residents complained about the noise to city officials. But when only a few people showed up at the City Council meeting Tuesday night, the council decided against pursuing the idea further.

“It has to take more than that for me to put a law into place,� Councilwoman Mimi Krogius Walters said.

City officials had asked City Atty. Terry Dixon to study what might be done about leaf blowers.

Dixon found that nine other cities in Orange County restrict their use, and that Laguna Beach bans them.

Statewide, more than 90 cities have some type of restrictions, although only a handful completely prohibit them.

As they have in many other communities, landscapers and gardeners organized in Laguna Niguel to fight any regulations. Some sent letters to their customers warning that higher prices probably would result.

“This law would put me out of business,� gardener Dale Crowley told the council Tuesday. “I only need to use these blowers five to eight minutes at each house. I can’t get the same results with brooms and water.�

But resident Lani Grilles said the noise from leaf blowers “goes on every day, five days a week. What am I to do, move out of Laguna Niguel?�

The only council support for restrictions came from Councilman Eddie Rose.

“This is not about quantity of money; it’s a quality-of-life issue,� Rose said. “The problem is fumes and noise that emanate from gas blowers.�

Laguna Beach officials say that not much has changed since their ban was passed in 1993.

A few citations have been issued and police still get occasional calls about gardeners who don’t know about the ordinance.

Yet, “we’ve been able to get along without� leaf blowers, said Terry Brandt, Laguna Beach public works director.

Doing the work by hand has meant more employee hours, but paying for and maintaining blowers was also an additional cost, he said.