Are leaf blower bans enforceable?
A typical response was that the bans are 90-95 percent effective. In most cities, enforcement is performed in response to citizen complaints (i.e., police do not seek out violators in the absence of complaints). There continue to be some offenders as new people, unaware of the blower ban, enter the yard care industry or come in from neighboring towns. However, cities report that the number of complaints diminishes over time. Is enforcement a major burden for the responsible agency? The vast majority of cities reported that enforcement was not a large burden. Were gardeners driven out of business or did they raise their rates? There were no reports of gardeners going out of business or raising their rates, though not all respondents could answer that question. Responses included “There are still plenty of gardeners working in Berkeley” and “Gardeners are alive and well in Los Altos…there have been no complaints from the public [about higher rates].” Are citizens satisfied? When we ask
