That serenity of residents on their verandas and porches could once again be pierced by the roar of the gas-powered leaf blower. Thank Gov. Ron DeSantis and the Republicans in the Florida Legislature.
Key Biscayne passed an ordinance that banned the noisy lawn contraptions in 2018. Some municipalities looked at the island with envy, passing their own bans or planning to do so.
Miami Beach, South Miami and Pinecrest all passed bans on gas-powered leaf blowers. But the Florida Legislature passed a sweeping farm bill that preempts municipalities – even those who have passed bans – from targeting gas-powered leafblowers.
Now, municipalities – sick of home rule being preempted by Tallahassee – are looking at work-arounds to stop — or at minimize – the impacts.
Leaf Blowers and Lobbyists
This session Republicans – who have a supermajority – couldn’t even agree on the budget. But lawmakers once again sided with lobbyists of the powerful Florida Nursery, Growers and Landscape Association.
The Association has been successful in getting lawmakers to prohibit municipalities from outlawing artificial turf and regulating pesticides.
The leafblower issue was part of SB 180, a sweeping farm bill. By tucking the leaf blower provision into a broad “agency bill” for the Department of Agriculture, the industry was able to frame the issue as protecting farming tools rather than just a fight over noisy lawn equipment.
“We’re being beholden more and more to the interest of the businesses. And not looking at the holistic community, and also listening to what the people want,” said former Key Biscayne Council Member Katie Petros who spearheaded the island’s ban on gas-powered leaf blowers.
During the bill signing in Sebring last month, DeSantis was blunt about his preference for gas-powered tools, framing the ban reversal as a win for personal choice. “If you want to use different stuff, fine, it’s a free country. But I like the gas-powered better,” he said. “I just think it’s more reliable … If that’s what you believe, then you should be able to continue to do that.”
Petros said banning gas-powered leaf blowers in 2018 made Key Biscayne a trendsetter.
“We are the first community in Miami-Dade County that actually did ban the gas powered leaf blowers, and the other ones followed suit,” she said. “When I was on Council, it’s the one thing that I got calls from other communities, even across the state they wanted to know how we were able to do it.”
Possible Work-Arounds
Williamson is well versed on the issue, responding to a reporter’s inquiry with an outline on everything leafblower. He said the new state law is pretty comprehensive, prohibiting enforcing time-of-day restrictions and restrictions on decibel levels.
“The Village can retain general noise authority, but cannot single out gas‑powered leaf blowers,” he said.
However, Key Biscayne can enforce noise regulations and hours of operations — as long as they apply equally to gas or electric equipment.
He said Key Biscayne can encourage voluntary use of electric or battery‑powered equipment through education, outreach, even incentives
“We will need to reassess our policy and clean up the code accordingly,” he said. “In the meantime, we need to make sure our Code Compliance officers are informed on the new law taking effect on July 1.”
Using other ordinances to address leaf blowers is tricky. Most noise complaints are made by individuals and then investigated by police. Williamson said that the Village is asking the Sustainability Advisory Board to look into the issue.
In Delray Beach in Palm Beach County, Mayor Tom Carney wants to explore using the noise ordinance, as well. The town just invested in five sound meters at $7,000 a piece which could be utilized.
“And that goes for not just lawn blowers, but also other lawn equipment, which, by the way, have decibel levels which exceed lawn blowers,” he said.
Pollution Problems and Electric Benefits
Gas-powered leaf-blowers are the unfiltered cigarette of lawn equipment.
A single commercial gas leaf blower can emit 30 million micrograms of fine particulates per hour. These particles are small enough to enter the bloodstream directly through the lungs of landscape workers – often immigrants.
A report by the Public Interest Network found in 2020 that in Florida alone, gas-powered lawn and garden equipment contributed 2.6 million tons of carbon dioxide, second only to California.
Lawn equipment in Miami-Dade County emitted nearly 199,000 tons that year, sixth most of any county in the nation and the most of any in Florida. That’s the equivalent of total annual emissions from 44,000 cars.
“For the best-selling commercial leaf blower, one hour of operation emits smog-forming pollution comparable to driving a 2016 Toyota Camry about 1,100 miles, or approximately the distance from Los Angeles to Denver,” the report said.
Petros said landscapers using electric lawn equipment will find them suitable.
“I see more landscapers using the electric versions because it’s better for them too once they invest in it,” she said. “Once they invest and they switch over, I don’t think they’ll ever switch back.”
This story was originally published in the Key Biscayne Independent, a WLRN News partner.
