Huntington Town mulls banning gas-powered leaf blowers for residential properties by 2026

The Huntington Town Board is considering a plan to ban gas-powered leaf blowers for residential properties by 2026 in response to residents' complaints about the noise and air pollution the devices produce.

Residents, led by Huntington CALM, or Clean Alternative Landscaping Methods, which advocates for the elimination of gas-powered leaf blowers, has been pushing for a ban in recent years. The group successfully lobbied the town board to make changes to its noise ordinance regarding gas-powered leaf blowers in 2020 and 2021. 

The proposal, which will be discussed at a public hearing on Oct. 8, would ban the devices for residential properties starting next year between Memorial Day and Labor Day. The devices would also be banned on Saturdays, Sundays and holidays. From Labor Day to Memorial Day, the devices would be banned Monday through Friday before 8 a.m. or after 5 p.m. The law would apply to homeowners and landscaping companies.

But commercial landscapers can use gas-powered leaf blowers at cemeteries, golf courses, school-owned properties or in commercial and industrial zones, on Saturdays, Sundays and holidays between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. In 2026 the allowances for cemeteries, golf courses, school-owned properties or in commercial and industrial zones will remain, but residential use of the devices will be banned.

“We’ve been talking about a ban for several years and I think it’s time to set a timetable where residents and commercial landscapers can find alternatives,” Town Supervisor Ed Smyth said.

Evan Dackow, vice chair of the Landscape Contractors Association of Long Island, which has more than 1,200 members, said he is concerned there could be a lack of battery-operated leaf blowers if gas-powered leaf blowers are phased out sooner than the industry can produce battery-operated devices.

“The demand will be high if all the towns and villages are banning gas-powered leaf blowers,” he said. "Companies are not going to produce battery-operated leaf blowers on hypotheticals. There's potential for supply chain shortfalls if every town outlaws them." 

He said battery-operated devices also don’t have the power and long battery life needed to do multiple properties quickly, so productivity will be impacted. 

In Greenport Village, a year-round ban on gas-powered blowers will take effect Dec. 16. The village board approved the law earlier this year.

In January 2019, North Hempstead officials prohibited commercial landscapers from using gas-powered leaf blowers from June 15 to Sept. 15. Bonnie Sager, a co-founder of Huntington CALM, said Southampton Village has banned the devices and other municipalities that have at least a partial ban include the villages of Garden City, Roslyn, Flower Hill, Sea Cliff and Great Neck Estates. 

She said landscapers provide a valuable service, but the noise and air pollution that gas-powered leaf blowers bring is unhealthy for everyone’s ears and lungs and those with noise sensitivity.

She said moving toward battery-operated leaf blowers eliminates the noise problem and toxic emissions.

“Nothing is perfect, but it’s a far superior method of cleaning leaves or debris,” Sager said of battery-operated devices. “It’s a compromise; people are not going to go back to racks and brooms commercially, although that would be the best way — or just leave the leaves.”

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The public hearing is set for 2 p.m. at Town Hall.