Subzero temperatures may be just a few days away, but Evanston is still fighting a battle normally associated with warmer times of year … the War of the Leaf Blowers.
At Tuesday night’s 4th Ward meeting, a resident complained that landscapers are still using gasoline powered leaf blowers, which, she said, are “really, really polluting,” and, which, along with propane-powered blowers, were banned year-round by city ordinance starting last April.
Electric-powered or battery-run devices, which are quieter, are allowed, within specified times of day.
Ald. Jonathan Nieuwsma conceded that enforcement, which is under the Health Department, “has been lacking.”
One reason, Nieuwsma said, is that landscapers were supposed to register with the city, but many have not, so enforcement is “falling through the cracks.”
Some landscapers have signed a pledge to comply with the ordinance, and, according to the city’s website, “to inform all staff working in Evanston of the rules regarding leaf blowers; and to respect the quality of life of Evanston residents by minimizing the noise created by landscaping activities.”
However, Nieuwsma said it’s possible the crew at a job site might not be aware of the ordinance. Don’t challenge the workers, he said.
Instead, he advised those who are upset to call 3-1-1. Make sure you provide the name of the landscape company and the address of the work.
Nieuwsma also noted that city officials plan to meet with some landscape companies this Friday to go over the rules.
A first-offender simply receives a warning. Fines can then range from $100 to $250, depending on how often a company has been cited.
No data was available at the meeting as to how many warnings and fines, if any, have been issued since the ordinance went into effect.
Financial grants of up to $3,000 are available to help landscapers transition from gasoline to electric powered blowers.
For more information on the city’s leaf blower ordinance, and on the companies that have pledged to comply, is available online.
While the Leaf Blower War may seem like a head-scratcher to those who don’t have or live near property blanketed by leaves in the fall, an Evanston Now article a couple of years ago about potential regulation called leaf blowers a “perennial source of noise complaints.”
Even when it’s just a few days from a few degrees below zero.
This is such a non-issue. Who careeeeeeeeeessssssssss.
Anyone who breathes in the air cares. Which should be everyone.
I care a great deal. When you live next door to a horde of landscaping crews with back mounted gas powered leaf blowers screaming and revving their motors for stretches of up to an hour, that’ll rattle your psyche. I also report to 311 all that I observe in the course of extended daily walks with my dogs. I will say that I have noticed considerably fewer violations occurring this past year in the Lakeshore Historic District which I frequent.
I care. In addition to the sound and air pollution they are horrible for carbon emissions:
In 2011, engineers at the car company Edmunds estimated that driving a Ford F-150 Raptor truck from Texas to Alaska would emit the same amount of air pollution as a mere half-hour of yard work with a two-stroke, gas-powered leaf blower (University of Pennsylvania’s Kleiman Center for Energy Policy February 7, 2023)