An Oak Bay councillor wants to ban gas-powered leaf blowers in the municipality as a way to take action on climate change at a local level.
Tara Ney is proposing the ban to demonstrate specific actions that municipalities can take to reduce carbon emissions.
Like many local governments in the region, Oak Bay council has declared a climate emergency.
“This is an opportunity to take some action that will make a real difference in our community to address climate change, and human health and well-being,” Ney said.
She points to research by the California Air Resources Board, a state agency tasked with protecting the public from the effects of air pollution, to show the effect gas-powered leaf blowers have on emissions.
According to the agency, using the best-selling commercial leaf-blower for one hour emits as much smog-forming pollution as driving about 1,770 kilometres in a 2017 Toyota Camry. By contrast, the agency equates the emissions from one hour of lawn mower use to driving about 480 km in the same vehicle.
Ney’s motion also seeks to address noise pollution in Oak Bay, something she said she hears a lot of complaints about.
“I’ve never had so much response on any one issue in 10-plus years on council. This is an issue that hits a nerve in our community,” Ney said.
James Gifford, who owns Green Heron Garden Service and Lawn Care, said he wouldn’t work in Oak Bay if Ney’s motion passes.
“There’s no way I could work in a cost-effective manner without a gas leaf blower and provide the level of service demanded at a price that anybody would be willing to pay,” Gifford said.
He said he sympathizes with people who don’t like the noise, and he doesn’t enjoying inhaling the fumes from gas-powered blowers, but he couldn’t provide the level of service customers expect with a rake and a broom, or electric leaf blowers.
Kara Wouters, owner of Pacific Organic Landscape Design, does about 30 per cent of her work in Oak Bay. She said although gas-powered blowers make her job easier, she wouldn’t mind using a rake for jobs in Oak Bay. But a ban would mean higher prices for customers in the municipality, whether they support Ney’s motion or not.
Wouters said she supports climate action and would use battery-operated leaf blowers if she could afford them, but they’re still significantly more expensive than gas-powered blowers.
Ney said the municipality needs to take landscapers’ concerns seriously, but it’s the government’s job to set policy and let innovation follow.
“If we can work towards the banning of these leaf blowers, we can talk more generally about cleaner and quieter neighbourhoods,” she said.
Ney proposed a similar ban in 2014.
Oak Bay council will consider the motion at a council meeting on Monday evening.
