Why do we have a ban on gas leaf blowers in Los Altos if the city will not enforce it? Despite having been banned for 34 years, the use of gas leaf blowers in our city remains pervasive. Why? Because the city is not enforcing the law. The numbers tell the story: 300+ warnings were issued, but only two citations in the past year. Imagine if the police department issued only two tickets per year. Gas leaf blowers account for 86 percent of code violations reported to the city, but enforcement is virtually non-existent. The reason the use of gas leaf blowers remains pervasive is simple—gardeners know there is no risk of being cited.
Currently, the Code Enforcement Officer (“CEO”) does not conduct patrols to actively search for gas leaf blower violations and instead may visit an address only after the city has received multiple reported violations from residents. This reactive approach shifts the burden of enforcement from the city to residents. Without active patrols, violations are (sometimes) cited when they happen to coincide with the CEO’s visit to a previously reported address—a remarkably unlikely occurrence given the brief duration of typical leaf-blowing activities. Absent enforcement and the intended result, residents give up and quit reporting violations.
The city’s “educate and seek voluntary compliance” (i.e., issuing warnings only) approach is insufficient and ineffective. The city should start enforcing the law by proactively conducting patrols and issuing citations for violations as mandated by the municipal code. To rid our city of these obnoxious and highly polluting machines, residents should contact city council members and the city manager, and report the address, date, and time of day of violations via the city’s online code enforcement form at https://www.losaltosca.gov/development-services/webform/online-code-enforcement-form (note: the identity of the resident reporting the violation is confidential and is not disclosed to the public). The use of a gas leaf blower is illegal in Los Altos and the city should start enforcing the law.
Bruce McFarlane
Los Altos
