By Sarah Lombardo
The subject came and went like a leaf being blown by a noisy gasoline-powered blower. But in the end, after touching on topics from economic hardship to the utility users tax, the Saratoga City Council, in a joint meeting with the Planning Commission, decided to leave current leaf-blower ordinances alone.
The council and commission discussed the possibility of banning or restricting the use of gasoline-powered leaf-blowers within city limits after resident John Vance wrote to the council on the subject. Addressing city officials last week, Vance said he knew the subject had come up before, but he decided to ask the council to consider it again after learning that Los Angeles had recently adopted an ordinance banning the use of gasoline-powered blowers in residential neighborhoods.
"If L.A. can do this, then surely a smaller city can likewise, within the residential communities, get rid of these things," Vance said.
The City Council last looked at the issue of leaf-blowers in 1994, when the city conducted an informal written and telephone survey of residents. The poll showed that out of the almost 70 responses the City Manager's office received, a majority of respondents supported a ban on all leaf-blowers. In contrast, the responses received at the City Hall receptionist's desk showed that 68 out of 123 residents opposed a ban on blowers, compared with 50 responses in favor of a ban. The council at that time decided to rely on the 1991 Noise Ordinance, which states that gasoline leaf-blowers can be used Mondays through Saturdays between the hours of 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. only.
But Community Development Director Paul Curtis said enforcement of the ordinance has always posed a problem.
"One of the difficulties in enforcing [the noise ordinance] is that by the time you send somebody out for a noise reading, they're probably done," he said. "So, it's very hard to track this down."
Many commissioners and council members said enforcement problems should be considered, especially in light of the city's current budget restraints and recent talk of cutting down on staff.
"We want to foster respect for the law, and if we want to pass a series of regulations and so on that really aren't enforced or can't be enforced as a practical matter, we're going to be doing a disservice to the community," said Planning Commissioner Mark Pierce.
Said Councilman Paul Jacobs: "We can't ever really have any citywide surveys to determine how the city feels, so it's hard to know whether the majority of the public would support these kinds of restrictions or not, but one thing we have had is that we did have a majority cut our budget. . . . If people want more regulation, somebody's got to pay for it. You have what I perceive, at least from the public in this city, they don't want to pay for regulation, and if they don't want to pay for it, then I don't think we are in a position to be providing more regulation."
Jacobs also said he would prefer that the issue go before the public. "I would much rather put it on the ballot and let the voters decide at the next municipal election. I mean, the voters say they want to have the right to make major decisions. I mean, [a ban] is in a way an economic decision. For a lot of people in this community, banning gas blowers might cost them as much annually as the utility users tax would have cost them."
Jacobs' comments sparked a heated response from Councilman Stan Bogosian, an opponent of the recently defeated tax. Bogosian said he was dismayed at what he perceived to be an attitude of punishing the residents because they voted down the tax in November. "I really don't like hearing that somehow because the voters decided in a certain way on the utility tax that we're going to come out and punish them by not bringing these issues forward," he said.
Other council actions
During a joint City Council/Planning Commission meeting Feb. 11, the following items were discussed:
Wood-Burning Stoves--The council discussed looking into the environmental impact of wood-burning stoves and the possibility of creating a policy on their use in Saratoga. The council directed the Planning Commission to research the topic and report back to the council at a later date.
Amendment--The council voted to approve a budget amendment moving funds totaling $71,193 from the Hillside Repair Fund to a capital project for street repairs associated with the Villa Oaks landslide.
This article appeared in the Saratoga News, February 19, 1997.
©1997 Metro Publishing, Inc. All rights reserved.