Town to discuss leaf blowers

The streets of Chapel Hill could be a little quieter this winter now that the Chapel Hill Town Council has approved a public forum to allow residents to suggest limits on gas-powered leaf blowers within city limits.

Council member Cam Hill presented a petition to ban the use of gas-powered leaf blowers at the council's Sept. 27 meeting.

He cited air quality, noise pollution and airborne dust and debris, as well as his own personal dislike for the blowers, as reasons to consider such a ban.

Before the issue was even discussed at Monday's meeting, resident Buddy Baldwin voiced his opposition to the ban.

"If we want to reduce pollution, we need to look at buses and trucks, not leaf blowers," he told the council. "This is the most ridiculous thing I've ever seen in my life."

When it came time for the council to discuss his proposal, Hill recognized that an outright ban was not possible.

"Tonight appears to be a night for lost causes," he said.

But he added that he would still like to see the council continue to discuss the issue.

According to Town Attorney Ralph Karpinos, banning leaf blowers is beyond the town's authority under state law.

"It would be problematic to do a complete ban," Karpinos said.

Town Manager Cal Horton expressed a similar idea and recommended that the council take no further action.

"An outright ban of leaf blowers would not be able to withstand a court test because it is beyond the legal ability of the town to enforce it," Horton said.

But the council did approve a public forum for residents to be able to suggest regulations the town could implement.

Several council members and town officials had their own such suggestions.

"There are other things that can be done to alleviate the problem than an outright ban," Hill said. "For instance, we could restrict the use of blowers to certain hours of the day and certain times of the year."

Karpinos said there could be a rule about not blowing material into the streets or not using the devices when other people are within a certain distance.

Council member Mark Kleinschmidt recommended expanding the scope of the public forum to include discussion of other outdoor appliances, such as lawn mowers and chain saws.

"We could use this as a launching pad to further discuss the deterioration of the air quality in our area," Kleinschmidt said.

But Mayor Kevin Foy disagreed with Kleinschmidt's suggestion, saying the focus should remain solely on leaf blowers.

Thinking ahead, council member Ed Harrison voiced concern about how the council would implement the future regulations.

"In situations like this one, you either enforce or don't," he said.

Karpinos suggested that increasing people's awareness of the noise ordinance and any new regulations would help ensure that those changes are enforced.

Town residents will have the opportunity to voice their suggestions during a public forum on the proposal scheduled for Jan. 24.

Contact the City Editor at citydesk@unc.edu.