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Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano is pushing for a bill that would restrict leaf blower use and regulate trucks carrying construction materials and refuse. Meanwhile, Palo Alto, Calif. is set to implement enforcement of the city’s gas blower ban. Check past news on community battles over leaf blowers at landscapearchitect.com. Type “Leaf Blowers” into the space under “Search for Articles.” Arizona’s proposed bill would require cities in high-pollution areas like Phoenix to restrict the use of leaf blowers on “high pollution” days. (The area had 43 high-pollution days in 2005 and 2006.) The measure would also require trucks to cover and secure materials to avoid littering. Dust and debris from construction sites, as well as particles from leaf blowers, are thought to be responsible for some of the air quality problems in the Phoenix and Tucson areas.
Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano is pushing for a bill that would restrict leaf blower use and regulate trucks carrying construction materials and refuse. Meanwhile, Palo Alto, Calif. is set to implement enforcement of the city’s gas blower ban.
Check past news on community battles over leaf blowers at landscapearchitect.com. Type “Leaf Blowers” into the space under “Search for Articles.”
Arizona’s proposed bill would require cities in high-pollution areas like Phoenix to restrict the use of leaf blowers on “high pollution” days. (The area had 43 high-pollution days in 2005 and 2006.) The measure would also require trucks to cover and secure materials to avoid littering. Dust and debris from construction sites, as well as particles from leaf blowers, are thought to be responsible for some of the air quality problems in the Phoenix and Tucson areas.
The Palo Alto City Council instituted the ban in residential areas in July 2005 following years of debate, but enforcement of it was scrubbed recently due to budget cuts. Police Chief Lynne Johnson said that starting on Feb. 12 a parking enforcement officer will respond to leaf blower complaints. A part-time temporary officer will be hired to cover the parking enforcement position, she said. The officer taking leaf blower calls will respond first to areas with the most complaints. “We are still not responding to anything unless we get three independent complaints,” Johnson said. Today’s leaf blowers are close to 70 percent quieter and cleaner than those of 10 years ago, said Bill Harley of the Outdoor Power Equipment Institute, which sought a compromise to allow blower use in Palo Alto. “There are more common-sense solutions than outright bans,” Harley told landscapearchitect.com. “One of the problems is that old information about old (blowers) gets used in these debates.” The state of Arizona has a high asthma rate and according to the legislators, emergency room visits related to children’s asthma increase on high pollution days. However, the Arizona bill is causing anxiety in some business and real estate circles, which say the rules will hurt landscaping businesses and the real-estate sector. Judy Gausman of the Arizona Landscape Contractors’ Association told landscapearchitect.com that the association is meeting with legislators to reach a compromise with both sides. Sources: American City Business Journals Inc., Palo Alto Daily News, OPEI
The Palo Alto City Council instituted the ban in residential areas in July 2005 following years of debate, but enforcement of it was scrubbed recently due to budget cuts.
Police Chief Lynne Johnson said that starting on Feb. 12 a parking enforcement officer will respond to leaf blower complaints. A part-time temporary officer will be hired to cover the parking enforcement position, she said. The officer taking leaf blower calls will respond first to areas with the most complaints.
“We are still not responding to anything unless we get three independent complaints,” Johnson said.
Today’s leaf blowers are close to 70 percent quieter and cleaner than those of 10 years ago, said Bill Harley of the Outdoor Power Equipment Institute, which sought a compromise to allow blower use in Palo Alto.
“There are more common-sense solutions than outright bans,” Harley told landscapearchitect.com. “One of the problems is that old information about old (blowers) gets used in these debates.”
The state of Arizona has a high asthma rate and according to the legislators, emergency room visits related to children’s asthma increase on high pollution days.
However, the Arizona bill is causing anxiety in some business and real estate circles, which say the rules will hurt landscaping businesses and the real-estate sector.
Judy Gausman of the Arizona Landscape Contractors’ Association told landscapearchitect.com that the association is meeting with legislators to reach a compromise with both sides.
Sources: American City Business Journals Inc., Palo Alto Daily News, OPEI
Francisco Uviña, University of New Mexico
Hardscape Oasis in Litchfield Park
Ash Nochian, Ph.D. Landscape Architect
November 12th, 2025
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