Keith Bowman, with McHale Landscape Design, has spent decades in the landscaping business. But, he confessed, when it comes to gas-powered leaf blowers, “I hate the sound of a gas blower, I hate it.”
However, when he testified before the Montgomery County Council on Tuesday, he asked the council to vote in favor of a bill that would provide seasonal exemptions from the county’s current ban on gas-powered leaf blowers for landscaping businesses.
The exemption provided in Bill 19-25 would run from Oct. 1 through Dec. 31, allowing businesses to use gas-powered equipment through a busy season when leaf-removal services are in demand.
Bowman said his business, which has about 60 employees, needs more time to invest in electric blowers.
“The batteries are $900 a piece. You need four batteries, minimum. Four batteries to make it through a fall day doing a leaf removal,” he said. “Do the math.”
Given the price tag on the electric equipment, Bowman projected his clients would see a 25-30% hike in rates.
Meanwhile, Robert Portanova said it’s worth it to reduce the noise from gas-powered blowers.
“This ban outlawing gas-powered leaf blowers is fantastic, and it needs to remain,” he said. “The amount of noise that we experience in our communities from sunup to sundown from March through November is astronomical.”
Poolesville Mayor Jim Brown urged the council to enact the exemptions, which would sunset in 2028. He said the town of Poolesville is responsible for maintaining 65 acres and that converting to electric leaf blowers would introduce added costs and logistical issues.
“Our infrastructure down at our main plant where all this would take place, the upgrade for that main plant, just to be able to charge things to the degree that we need to, is going to (cost) $50,000 — $50,000 we don’t have right this second,” he said.
Not all landscaping business representatives favor the exemptions.
Kris Colby, with Backyard Bounty, spoke in opposition to the bill. He described the work his company does as “ecological garden management” and said it invested in electric leaf blowers about six years ago. Along with the environmental benefits, Colby said, it’s made the work of his crews easier.
“Our team loves the electric equipment, they have since the day we implemented it,” he said.
He also said clients appreciate the quieter performance of the electric equipment.
The next step in the legislative process includes a work session by the Transportation and Environment Committee on July 28. A final vote by the full council is expected after the council’s August recess.
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