Alexandria, VA – In mid-May the Alexandria City Council passed an ordinance banning the use of gas-powered leaf blowers in the city.
The move makes Alexandria the first jurisdiction in Virginia to prohibit them.
The ordinance establishes an 18-month phase-out period for residents and businesses, while city government operations will transition away from gas-powered leaf blowers within one year.
It follows feedback from residents and an opinion from Virginia’s Attorney General that states the city can regulate gas-powered leaf blowers through its noise ordinance.
The Zebra’s May print edition included a piece by the Alexandria Beautification Commission addressing these devices and related health and environmental concerns.
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It seems that the city process to develop this ordinance was well done: it sought public views (particularly seeking those of landscaping firms), researched alternatives, and took a phased approach. This is the point of good government: to thoughtfully reach shared decisions that improve the general welfare in cases where purely individualized, solely-market-based decisions otherwise lead to collective outcomes that are unnecessarily harmful or unpleasant to ourselves and our neighbors. Good work!