Greetings!
Once again, we urgently need your help!
Thanks to the many emails city commissioners received from you this fall, city staff (with county input) have prepared a draft leaf blower ordinance at the request of Commissioner Rubio. This is terrific! We appreciate that the City has taken this first step.
The draft ordinance, however, is much weaker than we’d like. The good news is we have a window of opportunity in the next few days to try to make it stronger. The draft ordinance is now open for public comments through January 31. See this page for details and to submit a comment.
Please take a few minutes to post your comment. We ask that you thank the city for taking this important step, but let them know the proposed draft is too weak and how it can be improved (see below)
City staff will review all comments in February and prepare a final draft for the March 6th City Council meeting.
Here is our summary of the current version of the ordinance:
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Sets a start date of Jan. 1, 2026, for two years of a GLB prohibition that includes a 3-month fall exemption, October through December, in both 2026 and 2027. Enforcement efforts in 2026 will prioritize education over penalties.
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Sets a start date of Jan. 1, 2028, for the year-round prohibition. In the first year (2028), during the prior exemption period (Oct 1-Dec 31) enforcement will prioritize education rather than penalties.
- When penalties are enforced, the first two violations may result in a warning only, and upon the third violation, a $250 penalty may be issued.
- All enforcement, whether education, warnings, or penalties, is directed solely at the property owner as the “violator” of the ordinance. Contractors and property managers are not held responsible for violations.
We believe this draft, as written, is too weak. Here is how we’d like to see it
strengthened. (Feel free to draw on these in your comments):
1. Start the phase-out earlier.
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The first phase - a GLB ban with an exemption for the wet leaf season -should start in 2025, not 2026. After years of waiting, and given that the technology is finally “there,” and prices are falling, it’s time to get the ball rolling.
2. Shorten the fall exemption period to 2 months.
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The fall exemption period should span only November and December, not October. Even the city’s leaf pick-up service doesn’t start before Nov.1.
3. Begin the year-round prohibition earlier.
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The second and final phase – a year-round ban on GLBs – should start in 2026, not 2028. 2028 is much too late.
- A 2026 start date limits the messy fall exemption to one time only (2025). With a level playing field by fall 2026, all parties will work out solutions as they have elsewhere.
4. Strengthen enforcement!
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The entire burden for violations is placed on property owners. This is flawed. Contractors and property managers should be included as potential responsible parties or “violators” at the discretion of the health enforcement authority.
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Enforcement is the weak link that can undermine the goals of this ordinance. We don’t need another policy that is poorly enforced or unenforced, like the city’s noise code with respect to GLBs. A policy without effective enforcement is worse than no policy at all.
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Penalties for repeat offenders should be assessed earlier after the ordinance is rolled out. Currently, there is too much wiggle room for enforcement by education only.
This is an important moment in our shared campaign to eliminate GLBs. Thank you for submitting a comment, and for your ongoing support of a quieter, cleaner, and healthier Portland.
The Quiet Clean PDX team
Michael Hall, Albert Kaufman, Stan Penkin, Brian Stewart, Judy Walton – the Quiet Clean PDX Steering Committee
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