Ban on gas leaf blowers passed in Portland; gradual phase-out begins in 2026
The whine and stench of gas-powered leaf blowers will soon be a thing of the past in Portland.The Portland City Council on Wednesday unanimously approved a gradual ban on gas leaf blowers that will eliminate the machines year-round within the next four years.Multnomah County, which co-wrote the ban ordinance, pledged to help small and immigrant-run landscaping businesses with the expense of transitioning to electric and battery-powered blowers. The phase-out will launch in January 2026. For the first two years, gas leaf blowers will be prohibited for nine months out of the year – between January and September – and their use will be allowed during the wet leaf season from October to December.The year-round ban will start on Jan. 1, 2028.Portland is the first in Oregon to pass such a ban. It joins more than 100 U.S. cities, at least one county and the state of California in banning or restricting gas-powered leaf blowers or prohibiting their sale.Portland leaders said gas-powered leaf blowers pose a serious health risk to residents and particularly to the landscape workers who operate them and are exposed all day to their pollutants and noise.Operating a leaf blower for an hour emits the same amount of smog-forming pollutants as driving a Toyota Camry about 1,100 miles, or the distance from Portland to San Diego, based on calculations by the California Air Resources Board. Many gas leaf blowers exceed 85 decibels, which can damage hearing, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.“This policy will improve physical and mental health for everyone in our city, whether they use gasoline blowers for a living or simply experience them in their neighborhood,” said Commissioner Carmen Rubio whose Bureau of Planning and Sustainability worked on the new ordinance.The policy applies to backpack and hand-held leaf blowers. Enforcement will focus on property owners who use leaf blowers or who hire contractors who use them. It will not be directed at landscape businesses or yard-care workers.“The reason for this is to ensure that small businesses and landscape workers, especially those from marginalized communities, don’t bear the brunt of enforcement,” Sonrisa Cooper, the Sustainable Economy and Just Transition Analyst at the Bureau of Planning and Sustainability, told the City Council. “The onus is on the property owner to ensure that gas leaf blowers aren’t used on their property.”Implementation, including enforcement of the ban through a complaint-based system, will be managed by Multnomah County acting as the city’s health officer. The county will run a rebate program to help smaller businesses defray up to half the cost of a new electric blower. Local homeowners will be on the hook for replacing their own equipment. Residents and local leaders have tried to restrict use of gas leaf blowers over the past decade. The movement gained momentum five years ago when Portland passed a resolution, sponsored by late Commissioner Nick Fish, directing city bureaus to transition to electric or battery-powered devices and calling for a workgroup to consider a city-wide ban.That workgroup, convened by the city and county two years ago, came up with the phase-out approach. The city received 850 comments on the ban policy, with more than 80 percent of them in support of the ban.During last week’s council meeting, ban supporters emphasized the urgency of the ban due to the machines’ negative health impacts.“Eliminating gasoline blowers from Portland has overwhelming popular support. The sooner, the better. … It’s clearly the will of the people,” Michael Hall, the co-chair of Quiet Clean PDX, told the council. The group has for seven years lobbied city, county and state lawmakers for a ban.City officials said a gradual ban is needed to give homeowners and businesses time to replace their gas-powered equipment. The two-year phase-out also means electric leaf blower technology can further improve.Opponents of the ban – representing golf courses and large landscapers – argued that electric leaf blowers are not yet ready to replace gas-powered ones, especially at the commercial scale, and that the ban would add significant costs beyond the purchase of electric blowers, including multiple battery packs and chargers.“The drawbacks and deficiencies, particularly in a commercial operation, include limited battery life runtime, insufficient power, limited charging infrastructure, the event of regional power grid reliability, recycling limitations and the overall cost of new equipment, batteries and charging stations,” Chuck Wolsborn, a manager at Gresham Golf Course, told council members. “The cost of commercial-grade battery equipment can be two to four times that of gas counterparts.”In voting in favor of the ordinance, council members said it allows the city to recommend code amendments if the electric technology doesn’t sufficiently improve before the full ban goes into effect.Once the ban goes through, enforcement will happen through a complaint-based system. A first violation will result in a warning, but subsequent violations can result in fines of $250, $500 and $1,000. Each day an owner is in violation will be deemed a separate violation.But city and county officials said they hoped the transition would happen without resorting to fines. The county plans to launch a multilingual education campaign on the ban starting in July. It will also partner with nonprofit organizations and the landscaping industry to reach businesses, land owners and residents.City bureaus will also have to abide by the ban. Commissioner Dan Ryan, who oversees Parks & Recreation, said the bureau has already replaced its hand-held gas blowers with electric ones, but still needed to replace backpack blowers and electrical and charging infrastructure.Last month, the Portland Clean Energy Fund’s advisory committee recommended allocating $1.6 million to the bureau to cover those costs. That’s significant given that 90% of the city’s leaf blower users are employed by Parks & Recreation, according to Ryan.City and county officials acknowledged that Oregon’s electricity isn’t clean yet and continues to rely on natural gas and coal – though that will change over time. State law requires investor-owned utilities – Portland General Electric and Pacific Power – to reach zero emissions by 2040.They also acknowledged the transition to electric blowers would mean higher upfront costs, but the benefits – a quieter city, less air pollution, fewer carbon emissions and lower long-term costs – would outweigh those expenses.“New battery electric blowers suitable for the landscape industry are not cheap,” said John Wasiutynski, the county’s Office of Sustainability Director. “But operators can save money over time since there’s no fuel and less maintenance.”— Gosia Wozniacka covers environmental justice, climate change, the clean energy transition and other environmental issues. Reach her at gwozniacka@oregonian.com or 971-421-3154.Our journalism needs your support. Subscribe today to OregonLive.com.
The Portland City Council on Wednesday unanimously approved a gradual ban on gas leaf blowers that will eliminate the machines year-round within the next four years.
The whine and stench of gas-powered leaf blowers will soon be a thing of the past in Portland.
The Portland City Council on Wednesday unanimously approved a gradual ban on gas leaf blowers that will eliminate the machines year-round within the next four years.
Multnomah County, which co-wrote the ban ordinance, pledged to help small and immigrant-run landscaping businesses with the expense of transitioning to electric and battery-powered blowers.
The phase-out will launch in January 2026. For the first two years, gas leaf blowers will be prohibited for nine months out of the year – between January and September – and their use will be allowed during the wet leaf season from October to December.
The year-round ban will start on Jan. 1, 2028.
Portland is the first in Oregon to pass such a ban. It joins more than 100 U.S. cities, at least one county and the state of California in banning or restricting gas-powered leaf blowers or prohibiting their sale.
Portland leaders said gas-powered leaf blowers pose a serious health risk to residents and particularly to the landscape workers who operate them and are exposed all day to their pollutants and noise.
Operating a leaf blower for an hour emits the same amount of smog-forming pollutants as driving a Toyota Camry about 1,100 miles, or the distance from Portland to San Diego, based on calculations by the California Air Resources Board. Many gas leaf blowers exceed 85 decibels, which can damage hearing, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
“This policy will improve physical and mental health for everyone in our city, whether they use gasoline blowers for a living or simply experience them in their neighborhood,” said Commissioner Carmen Rubio whose Bureau of Planning and Sustainability worked on the new ordinance.
The policy applies to backpack and hand-held leaf blowers. Enforcement will focus on property owners who use leaf blowers or who hire contractors who use them. It will not be directed at landscape businesses or yard-care workers.
“The reason for this is to ensure that small businesses and landscape workers, especially those from marginalized communities, don’t bear the brunt of enforcement,” Sonrisa Cooper, the Sustainable Economy and Just Transition Analyst at the Bureau of Planning and Sustainability, told the City Council. “The onus is on the property owner to ensure that gas leaf blowers aren’t used on their property.”
Implementation, including enforcement of the ban through a complaint-based system, will be managed by Multnomah County acting as the city’s health officer. The county will run a rebate program to help smaller businesses defray up to half the cost of a new electric blower. Local homeowners will be on the hook for replacing their own equipment.
Residents and local leaders have tried to restrict use of gas leaf blowers over the past decade. The movement gained momentum five years ago when Portland passed a resolution, sponsored by late Commissioner Nick Fish, directing city bureaus to transition to electric or battery-powered devices and calling for a workgroup to consider a city-wide ban.
That workgroup, convened by the city and county two years ago, came up with the phase-out approach. The city received 850 comments on the ban policy, with more than 80 percent of them in support of the ban.
During last week’s council meeting, ban supporters emphasized the urgency of the ban due to the machines’ negative health impacts.
“Eliminating gasoline blowers from Portland has overwhelming popular support. The sooner, the better. … It’s clearly the will of the people,” Michael Hall, the co-chair of Quiet Clean PDX, told the council. The group has for seven years lobbied city, county and state lawmakers for a ban.
City officials said a gradual ban is needed to give homeowners and businesses time to replace their gas-powered equipment. The two-year phase-out also means electric leaf blower technology can further improve.
Opponents of the ban – representing golf courses and large landscapers – argued that electric leaf blowers are not yet ready to replace gas-powered ones, especially at the commercial scale, and that the ban would add significant costs beyond the purchase of electric blowers, including multiple battery packs and chargers.
“The drawbacks and deficiencies, particularly in a commercial operation, include limited battery life runtime, insufficient power, limited charging infrastructure, the event of regional power grid reliability, recycling limitations and the overall cost of new equipment, batteries and charging stations,” Chuck Wolsborn, a manager at Gresham Golf Course, told council members. “The cost of commercial-grade battery equipment can be two to four times that of gas counterparts.”
In voting in favor of the ordinance, council members said it allows the city to recommend code amendments if the electric technology doesn’t sufficiently improve before the full ban goes into effect.
Once the ban goes through, enforcement will happen through a complaint-based system. A first violation will result in a warning, but subsequent violations can result in fines of $250, $500 and $1,000. Each day an owner is in violation will be deemed a separate violation.
But city and county officials said they hoped the transition would happen without resorting to fines. The county plans to launch a multilingual education campaign on the ban starting in July. It will also partner with nonprofit organizations and the landscaping industry to reach businesses, land owners and residents.
City bureaus will also have to abide by the ban. Commissioner Dan Ryan, who oversees Parks & Recreation, said the bureau has already replaced its hand-held gas blowers with electric ones, but still needed to replace backpack blowers and electrical and charging infrastructure.
Last month, the Portland Clean Energy Fund’s advisory committee recommended allocating $1.6 million to the bureau to cover those costs. That’s significant given that 90% of the city’s leaf blower users are employed by Parks & Recreation, according to Ryan.
City and county officials acknowledged that Oregon’s electricity isn’t clean yet and continues to rely on natural gas and coal – though that will change over time. State law requires investor-owned utilities – Portland General Electric and Pacific Power – to reach zero emissions by 2040.
They also acknowledged the transition to electric blowers would mean higher upfront costs, but the benefits – a quieter city, less air pollution, fewer carbon emissions and lower long-term costs – would outweigh those expenses.
“New battery electric blowers suitable for the landscape industry are not cheap,” said John Wasiutynski, the county’s Office of Sustainability Director. “But operators can save money over time since there’s no fuel and less maintenance.”
— Gosia Wozniacka covers environmental justice, climate change, the clean energy transition and other environmental issues. Reach her at gwozniacka@oregonian.com or 971-421-3154.
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