Clean air advocates implore city to cite gas leaf blower scofflaws

Local environmental advocacy group GreenTown Los Altos has ramped up its efforts to get the city of Los Altos to improve its enforcement of the illegal use of gas-powered leaf blowers.

The Clean Air Advocate group of GreenTown Los Altos, a project of the Los Altos Mountain View Community Foundation’s Local Impact Collective that strives to protect and enhance the environment of Los Altos and Los Altos Hills, has long been in the ear of city officials about the lack of code enforcement on gas-powered leaf blowers. GreenTown has a web page explaining why gas leaf blowers are illegal in more than 170 cities throughout the country – greentownlosaltos.org/gas-leaf-blowers. 

Los Altos originally banned the use of gas-powered leaf blowers in 1991 through amendments to the city’s noise ordinance and updated the ban of the blowers in 2023 by creating its own municipal code chapter. The new municipal code was adopted in July 2023 and put into effect a month later, with property owners cited for any violations. A first offense is a written warning, followed by fines of $100, $200 and $500 on the second, third and additional offenses within a 12-month period.

Initially the enforcement was the responsibility of the Los Altos Police Department, but that shifted to the city in April 2023, which hired a code enforcement officer to receive complaints and issue citations for violations. However, despite the municipal code and ban, GreenTown Los Altos advocates say the city isn’t pulling its weight.

GreenTown Los Altos advocate Bruce McFarlane is a leader in the group seeking answers. McFarlane said that from July 2025 through June 2026, 457 complaints had been filed across 251 addresses throughout the city and not a single citation was issued.

“There is no reasonable explanation why, after having received 457 reported (gas leaf blower) violations in 12 months with over 50 addresses having received multiple reported violations, the city did not issue any citations. Not one,” McFarlane said in an email. “That is not enforcement. That is a dereliction of enforcement and the City Council should address the problem.”

In information received through the city’s public records portal, it showed that from April 2023 when the city took over the enforcement of gas leaf blowers, there have been just over 1,700 complaints filed through the end of July this year, or 42.5 complaints a month, with only 21 citations, or 0.5 per month. The last issued citation was March 26, 2024. All told, the city has recorded 2,229 code violation complaints from January 2023 through July 2026. 1,654 of all city code violation complaints, or 72%, are about gas leaf blowers.

Los Altos City Manager Gabe Engeland said the high complaint numbers show that gas-powered leaf blowers continue to be an issue in the city, but said enforcement is a challenge. 

“A resident complaint gives the city information about a potential violation, but the practical challenge is observing the use while it is occurring,” Engeland told the Town Crier, noting that the usage of leaf blowers is in short spurts and varies based on landscaping schedules. “To issue a citation, the city needs sufficient evidence to establish both the violation and the responsible property, including viewing the violation taking place. That is why there can be such a significant difference between the number of complaints received and the number of citations issued.”

Engeland stressed that code enforcement follows up on every complaint received and that when a property has multiple complaints, staff takes additional steps, including in-person visits to the property.

“A complaint about a violation and the evidence necessary to issue a citation are two different things,” Engeland added. “That can be frustrating for residents who report violations, but it does not mean their complaints are being ignored.”

Currently the city uses complaint history to identify repeat locations, and properties with multiple complaints receive additional attention from staff. Engeland said that the city is still working on ways to evaluate and improve compliance, “but any approach has to recognize both the evidentiary requirements for issuing citations and the city’s responsibility to appropriately allocate its enforcement resources.”

As a means to help reduce violations and get closer to total compliance, the city is about to launch a rebate program to help residents purchase electric equipment. The city believes that education is the most effective way to reduce gas-powered leaf blower use long-term, and the rebates will make it easier for residents to transition to electric equipment. 

While the city continues its pursuit to lower the usage of gas leaf blowers, McFarlane is steadfast that the education aspect is not a fruitful one. It all comes down to writing up citations, which hasn’t been done in more than two years.

“Because of that, everyone now knows the city won’t issue a citation for a gas leaf blower violation, so they keep on using them,” McFarlane said. “Start enforcing the ban on gas leaf blowers and issue citations for violations as mandated by the municipal code.”

McFarlane said the city had been doing the right thing when it initially took over, issuing around 30 citations within the first year, but none since. That is the root of the problem, he said.

“Absent issuing citations, there is no incentive for gardeners to stop using gas blowers,” McFarlane said. “Resume issuing citations for gas leaf blower violations as you did when (the city hired) the code enforcement officer, and watch what happens – gas leaf blower use will decrease.”