By Bob Seidenberg
Evanston City Council members voted against suspending enforcement of a ban on gas-powered leaf blowers Monday, a pause some landscapers had sought to allow more time for the transition to electric devices.
Council members were sympathetic to concerns raised from mostly Hispanic members of the local landscaping community to temporarily suspend enforcement of the city ban on gas-powered or propane-powered leaf blowers.
The landscapers had requested a halt of enforcement activities from March 18 through April 8, with the spring cleanup season coming up.
But in a narrow 5-4 vote council members rejected the request, with those in the majority citing the importance of the issue to environmental goals of the city.
Nieuwsma sees ‘a conundrum’
Fourth Ward Council member Jonathan Nieuwsma, voting with the five members opposed to lifting enforcement, acknowledged there’s “a conundrum here,” with council members torn between equity concerns raised by smaller landscapers and the environmental concerns that had led to the April 1, 2023 ban in the first place.
Nieuwsma called gas blower use “a teeny drop in the bucket compared to building emissions, compared to vehicle emissions, and these are two areas where I think we should be focusing our attention when it comes to climate action.”
At the same time,Nieuwsma said, “I don’t want to support a moratorium because that is moving backwards. So I’m going to vote no on this proposal because we do have viable
alternatives with electric leaf blowers. They are cleaner. They are more healthy. They’re quieter, not only for the neighbors, but for the users themselves.”
Ninth Ward Council Member Juan Geracaris, who has been a contact point for the Hispanic community’s concerns on the issue, argued in support of moratorium and giving landscapers more time to apply for an assistance program the city is offering.
He also said the three weeks would offer time to address some of the animosity the landscapers have experienced, with some residents taking pictures or videos of them using banned gas blowers.
“And I think if we have, like, a meaningful conversation and build some trust, we can help these businesses get along, but it’s not going to happen in a week,” Geracaris said. “You know, there’s a reason why the only companies that have been able to convert [to electric] have 50, 60 employees, they have capital. … It’s also easier for them to charge more money.”
For smaller companies, “20% more work [with the less-powerful electric blowers] is 20% less of a paycheck for these folks.”
Voting with Geracaris in support of a resolution to halt enforcement activities from March 18 through April 8 were Council Members Krissie Harris (2nd Ward), Bobby Burns (5th Ward) and Devon Reid (8th Ward).
Voting against the resolution were Nieuwsma and Council Members Clare Kelly (1st Ward), Melissa Wynne (3rd Ward), Tom Suffredin (6th Ward) and Eleanor Revelle (7th Ward).
Sharp divide during comments
During public comment, the council received strong comments for and against the pause.
DePaul University Professor Clark Elliott urged council members “to do the right thing” and vote down the moratorium, noting that more than 600 residents had signed a petition in the past week, “passionately asking you to keep the leaf blower ban. These are your constituents and voters. Please don’t vote anti-environment.”
At the March 4 meeting of the Human Services Committee, Elliott had cited research associating gas-powered leaf blowers with toxins and carcinogens.
Adriana Gomez, the next speaker, maintained that “penalizing landscapers for using gas blowers is discrimination based on economic status. Going green is a privilege. You are pushing my community out of Evanston. You giving grants isn’t enough to make the full transition; that’s a Band-Aid solution.”
Several people spoke about inconsistency in the current ordinance, which allows the city to use gas-powered blowers in maintenance of city baseball fields, artificial turf fields, play areas and other places.
