Orinda, CA blows off ban of leaf blowers

[The Straight Story]

Something went wrong in Orinda on Tuesday. All references to politics and sausage-making aside, it left a bad taste in my mouth. I'd be interested in hearing how you felt about it.

Tuesday night's hearing on a requested ban on leaf blowers in Orinda was an exercise in small-town politics to be sure, with both sides of the issue lining up and letting fly to get their points across. Good points, and unintentionally comical ones, were made by both factions. But, in the end, it was a comment by at least one council member that made me say: "Did I just hear that right?"

"...It appears to me that those experiencing problems with the noise or with the pollution, air pollution as they're calling it, I would think from my perspective they have some options," Councilmember Sue Severson said. "They can either be indoors or, as some have said, (get) triple pane windows or have other means to mitigate that noise but on the other side of it placing an undue burden of an outright ban I think is difficult..."

Essentially, people who went to their City Council to seek help in mitigating a proven noise and air polluter in their city were told to - shelter in place. I don't know about you, but has anyone priced triple-pane windows lately?

In a few short seconds, the burden of responsibility for a citywide issue had been neatly shifted from people wielding a proven noise and air polluter onto the people suffering from its effects with no attempt at compromise offered. No Noiseless Wednesdays or Silent Sundays, no attempt to reduce decibel levels, no effort to enforce regulation of devices scientists say are known to cause hearing loss with prolonged use.

http://lamorinda.patch.com/articles/uncomfortable-message-in-orinda-did-we-hear-that-right

[SoCalNative]

1. And those using the leaf blowers

making all the noise and stirring up the allergens and polluting the environment ALSO have some options:

They can use a rake

They can use a broom and dustpan

[arcane1]

2. Oh good lord...

First thing, see if Sue Severson has any financial gain from said windows or the installation thereof, and/or the businesses that use these wasteful and pointless devices.

[virgogal]

3. Leaf blowers should be banned everywhere. Ever watch a gardener spend

about 5 minutes to blow ONE leaf to his collection point?

They are the worst.

[lbrtbell]

4. That will never happen

I have a friend in LA. He says that every time they try to ban leaf blowers, the Hispanics start complaining that it's a "racist" law because leaf blowers are used by Hispanic landscapers.

Whites, blacks, and Asians don't use leaf blowers? That's news to me. When I lived in Bakersfield, white people used those lousy things all the time, usually at around six in the morning. For some reason, people there seem to think that you shouldn't let your lawn grow past half an inch tall (literally!). The noise aside, all leaf blowers do is make the leaves your neighbor's problem.

A few weeks ago, when high winds deposited our neighbor's leaves three inches thick on our lawn, I went out with a little CORDED electric mower and mulched them easily. No leaf blower needed, and I didn't push them off onto another neighbor's yard, either.

Not to sound like an old geezer here, but people are just too spoiled nowadays. The only thing you really need a leaf blower for is to get leaves off areas landscaped with gravel. Beyond that, either mulch, bag, or rake the leaves.

[Angry Dragon]

5. But the tv tells me I really need one ............

And I need that 35hp garden tractor for my city lot.

[The Straight Story]

7. You need an SUV to haul your lawn cutting tractor, and a green lawn in the desert

Else you are a 'loser' :)

[The Straight Story]

6. I used to live in Bakersfield

It is a hell hole :)

[sylveste]

10. meh, i use mine

to blow the leaves out of my gutters, nothing works better.

[auntsue]

9. Collection point? Where I live they just blow everything

out into the street. Which may be illegal but they don't seem to get caught. I have asthma so I don't enjoy the outcome of all the=at stiring up of dust and whatever.

[Fumesucker]

8. Four stroke leaf blowers are available..

Considerably quieter and less annoying lower pitched sound than a two stroke blower along with considerably less pollution, about the same as a regular mower (no oil mixed with the gas and four strokes are inherently cleaner burning anyway)



http://www.google.com/products/catalog?q=4+stroke+leaf+blower&um=1&ie=UTF-8&cid=10392416313648396919&ei=s8btTOW7PISglAekndzSCw&sa=X&oi=product_catalog_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CCEQ8wIwAA#